1. Softcat

GII: £2.85bn

Employees: 2,617

Softcat continues to prove its mettle as one of the UK’s most formidable resellers, posting impressive growth across key metrics despite a fluctuating macroeconomic backdrop and a dip in revenue during FY24. Gross invoiced income rose 11.3 per cent to £2.85bn, while gross profit hit £417.8m, up 11.7 per cent. Operating profit reached £154.1m, a 9.3 per cent increase.

That dip in revenue—down 2.3% in FY24—was chalked up to ongoing softness in the PC market. But CEO Graham Charlton was unfazed, calling revenue “the most meaningless number in our set of results.” His confidence appears to be paying off.

In March 2025, the VAR reported a return to growth in its H1 FY25 numbers. Gross profit jumped 12.1% to £1.5bn, driven by enterprise, mid-market, and public sector demand, as well as surging cybersecurity sales. Hardware also made a comeback, with boosts in datacentres, networking infrastructure, and server and compute.

Gross invoiced income for H1 FY25 surged 19.3% to £220.2m, while revenue rose 16.8% to £545.6m. Operating profit reached £73.7m, a 10.4% year-on-year lift. Software and services also performed strongly, supported by high-margin support service deals.

Softcat has also ramped up headcount, growing by 6% year-on-year to 2,617, with hiring focused on technical, specialist and sales support roles. Its long-held focus on organic growth now runs in parallel with its first-ever acquisition—of Leeds-based AI and data consultancy Oakland in April 2025. The £8m deal (plus performance-based earn-outs) brings 70 data specialists into the fold and positions Softcat to scale its AI and automation services.

“We think both businesses, our people and our customers will benefit from the coming together,” Charlton told CRN. “We’re aiming to become a true leader in the data and AI space.”

While the reseller continues to prioritise customer needs over revenue metrics, it's now forecasting lower double-digit operating profit growth for FY25—an upgrade from earlier estimates. As Charlton put it: “We can scale that capability to more and more customers over time.”