Midwich snaps up majority stake in specialist distributor DVS

Deal expands AV distributor’s presence in the CCTV market

Midwich has acquired a majority stake in Cardiff-based distributor DVS, in a deal which expands its reach into the CCTV and security market.

The HikVision and Toshiba distributor was founded in 2003 and is based in Cardiff. Operating through parent company Cooper Projects Limited, the firm offers CCTV and security solutions for trade customers in verticals including corporate, retail and residential among others.

Although primarily in the CCTV space, Midwich claims DVS has diversified its portfolio in recent years to include adjacent technologies including access control, intercom and intruder detection.

DVS turned over £37.4m in its last financial year ending 31 October 2020 and generated pre-tax profits of £2.1m.

Midwich has acquired a 65 per cent stake in the DVS business, which will be funded through itsexisting finances and is expected to contribute to its earnings for full-year 2022.

Midwich has the option to acquire the remaining 35 per cent share in the business in three years' time or later for up to £20m. The maximum aggregate consideration for the purchase of 100 per cent of the business is £35m, Midwich claims.

The deal is expected to make Midwich a significant player in the security market, where it has previously held little presence, according to CEO Stephen Fenby.

"The acquisition of DVS gives Midwich access to a significant segment of the Security market in which we currently have little presence, and which is expected to grow at around 8 per cent per annum for the next five years.

The knowledge and support of the experienced DVS team should help realise new opportunities for our customers in an increasingly converging technology market. Similarly, we believe that much of DVS's extensive customer base uses or could use our core AV products in their projects. We are very excited at the prospect of supporting Tim, Gavin, David and the rest of the DVS team in accelerating the growth of the business."

DVS' existing management team - MD Tim Goodson, commercial director Gavin Dunleavy and chief technology officer David Davies - will maintain a stake in the company and will continue to grow the business with Midwich.

"At DVS we have always had ambitious growth plans and combining with Midwich gives us a unique offering to both of our loyal customer bases. The Midwich team quickly grasped the understanding of our available technologies and how they could also be used by their own customers in an ever-converging space. We are super excited to be part of the Midwich group which has a wealth of experience and knowledge that we can utilise to make sure our ambitious plans are met as we look to grow DVS," said Goodson.

It's the second acquisition for Midwich in less than a year. The AV specialist previously reached a deal to acquire assets from imaging distributor Intro 2020 after the business hit financial difficulties last year.

The distributor also opened a new 50,000 square-foot AV training and events facility in Bracknell last year as it aimed to bring together vendors and resellers to the facility and showcase their products.