'We'll finish this year twice the size that we entered it' - Babble CEO on growth through M&A

Matt Parker believes the acquisitive cloud comms provider is becoming 'more ambitious' every day

Babble' chief executive has said it plans to do more acquisitions this year, with the business set to exit 2022 "twice the size we entered it".

Matt Parker believes the acquisitive cloud comms provider is becoming "more ambitious" every day, which in turn is the driver of accelerating acquisitions.

So far this year, the business has struck six deals to buy businesses and is currently aiming to do more than the nine achieved in 2021.

"There will be more acquisitions," Parker told CRN.

"A deal is not done until its done, but if everything goes to plan we will do more deals than we did last year."

He added: "The idea is, how do we double the size of the business? We talk about doubling it every 18 months, but the reality is, we'll have doubled the size of the business by the end of 2022.

"We'll exit 2022 twice the size that we entered it."

Babble has been on a growth path since 2018, with its latest acquisitions of Berry Telecom and Cavendish Communications taking the total number of companies it has snapped up since 2019 to 21.

And Parker claims Babble will exit 2022 with a revenue run rate close to £100m as it works around its strategic pillars for growth - one of which is growing organically.

"That's about investing in the commercial side of the business and making sure that the products that we're offering to the customers is our best in class and deliver the results that our customers are looking for," he said.

The other is by continuing to acquire businesses that fit its criteria, with its strategy not revolved around "finding something today and buying it today".

"It's about building long-term relationships, working out what the strategic fit is and whether we're going to see success," Parker said.

"Getting these right most if not all of the time is critical in terms of where we're trying to get Babble to."

Parker explained the cloud comms provider has four tests before striking a deal. This includes:

• Checking the quality of the businesses (revenue)
• Making sure its something Babble wants to do
• Checking the business has a customer base Babble can grow into
• Does Babble like the people its buying the business from?

Parker added: "The deals that we're doing are tending to get bigger, although we're still doing deals at the smaller end because we think they work really well.

"As we get bigger, it gets easier for us to integrate larger organisations in a more efficient and more effective ways."