FluidOne makes 'strategic investment' in Microsoft MSP Marathon
CEO Russell Horton to become chairman of Marathon following investment
FluidOne has made a "strategic investment" in Microsoft Gold partner Marathon Information Technology Services.
Based in Surrey, Microsoft, VMware, Veeam and Dell partner Marathon has 80 staff and revenues of £11m.
It was founded in 2010 by Paul Hepburn, but was acquired by former OCSL execs Iain Maclean and Tim Thrower in 2020 with Hepburn retaining a 20 per cent stake in the business and staying on as CTO.
The firm claims to specialise in cloud transformation, modern workplace, security and contact centre to mid-market and enterprise customers.
The company rebranded from Marathon Professional Services to Marathon Managed Services in 2021 which Maclean said better reflected the nature of its business today, with 60 to 65 per cent of its business coming from managed services.
Marathon claims that it has boosted its revenues from £4m to £11m and doubled its headcount since Maclean and Thrower joined the business.
As part of the investment, FluidOne CEO Russell Horton will become chairman of Marathon while FluidOne directors Brendan Lynch, Chris Rogers and Roy Hastings will also join Marathon's board.
Maclean will continue to lead Marathon as CEO while Thrower will become a non-executive director.
The investment was supported by FluidOne backers Livingbridge and HSBC, with HSBC refreshing its facility to provide funds for further acquisitions over the next three years.
The deal will mean that Marathon can broaden its offering to its clients, while FluidOne will benefit from new services for its clients with more than 200 employees.
FluidOne has previously acquired a number of businesses in the UK including SD-WAN provider SAS Global Communications in December last year, PSU Business Technology in October 2020 and cybersecurity firm Cyber Security Associates in November 2020.
Marathon has made acquisitions of its own, snapping up West Sussex firm William Jarrod Partnership in October last year.
The firm claims to have revenues of £68m and 310 staff, serving more than 1,350 customers and resellers.
"The FluidOne board and I saw a great fit to further enhance our Connected Cloud solutions strategy. Investing in Marathon, backing Iain and his team, allows us to complete the IT element of our Connected Cloud solutions portfolio, alongside our market-leading connectivity, mobile, UCaaS and cyber security. When combined with our IT capabilities from the acquisitions of PSU and SAS Global, we are now able to serve our entire customer base, including our largest multinational customers," said Horton.
"We're proud of what we've built at Marathon, and it was time for us to take things to the next stage. We saw a great opportunity in FluidOne's investment to support our ambitious growth plans allowing us to expand our service offering to our current client base whilst also reaching new customers," added Maclean.
"It was important for us to partner with a company that aligned with our own culture and values. Our top priority has always been to deliver a high level of service, which we'll continue to do for both our current clients and new ones."