Daisy acquires business broadband provider XLN Group

Acquisition will boost Daisy’s broadband and phone division to more than £200m in revenues

Daisy has acquired business broadband provider XLN Group in a deal which will boost its own broadband and phone division to more than £200m in revenue.

Based in London, XLN claims to provide more than 100,000 small businesses with business broadband, phones and card payments.

Daisy expects the deal to close in early March.

Becoming part of Daisy will create a division with upwards of 200,000 customers, Daisy claims. XLN states on its website to have earned more than 10,000 five-star reviews on Trustpilot, more than any other company in its sector and 20-times more than BT.

Daisy says the acquisition will extend its own portfolio and enable it to offer the "widest choice of solutions" to the business market.

An upcoming analogue switch off will mean UK businesses will need to shift to digital services, Daisy claims, putting it in an advantageous position to help customers make the transition.

Daisy chairman Matthew Riley said: "With so much investment across the UK to improve the fibre infrastructure, Daisy is now well-positioned to help unlock the enhanced speed, reliability and security that customers want in their offices and shops up and down the country. There is also a vast opportunity in the creation of jobs as we need more staff to help deliver that service."

Christian Nellemann, founder and executive Chairman of XLN, added: "We have been highly successful in our support of small businesses since our launch in 2002. We have continually innovated in both products and services which has enabled the company to continue to grow. Therefore, we felt the time was right to hand the reins over to Daisy, who have a great track record of investing and enhancing the businesses they acquire; the business and our customers are in safe hands."

Daisy Communications' last acquisition was last August in the form of Kent-based telecoms services outfit Premier Choice Telecom. The deal brough 40 new staff and 1,500 customers into the Daisy Group.

It came months after Daisy spin-off Digital Wholesale Solutions, which was formed in 2020 following the merger of three separate channel-focused businesses, sold a minority stake to private equity firm Inflexion.