FluidOne makes M&A move for CNC

Connected cloud player FluidOne is no stranger to using an acquisition to bolster its business, dipping back into the M&A market to pick up CNC.

The move for Brighton-based CNC (Computer and Network Consultants) provides FluidOne with access to a managed service provider (MSP) covering the south coast and a fifth office to bolster its UK coverage. 

CNC is a 27-year-old business that was founded by Graham Lind and Gary Jowett. It is the third deal struck this year, following on from moves in January for Highlander Computing Solutions and  projectfive in April.

FluidOne is following an M&A strategy to invest in regional MSPs to establish a network that provides services to SME customers.

“I am pleased to announce the acquisition of CNC, that builds on our strategy to create a branch network for expertly delivered IT managed services to business customers. When reviewing the business, I was impressed with the excellent service they deliver and the strength of relationships that the team build with their clients,” said Russell Horton, FluidOne CEO.

“They are a great fit to our strategy, and I look forward to working with Graham Lind, Gary Jowett and the team to grow the Brighton business,” he added.

The plan is to run CNC as a separate branch with a dedicated management team, continuing to be led by co-founder Lind as managing director of the Brighton Branch and supported by co-founder Jowett as operations and marketing director.

The CNC branch will report into Steve Brown, managing director of the FluidOne Business IT CoE, with Horton, the FluidOne group CEO, assuming the role of chairman of CNC.

Graham Lind, CNC founder and managing director, said the deal would help the business build on its recent growth.

“We have experienced strong growth over the past two years. Customer feedback of the services they require from their IT support partner has given us the ambition to accelerate our growth and deliver quality services to even more local businesses,” he said.

“We see a great opportunity to build CNC as the trusted local IT provider whilst benefiting from expert overlay in connectivity, mobile, unified communications and cyber from the wider FluidOne group. We see a strong match in culture and putting the customer first with FluidOne, and the acquisition offers fantastic career opportunities to the CNC team,” he added.

FluidOne has been growing through acquisition and strategic investments. The moves it has made this year came on the back of activity in 2022, which saw moves for Marathon last May and managed SD-WAN player SAS Global Communications in January. The terms of the CNC deal were not disclosed.

The theme of its acquisitions has been to add more technology expertise to bolster a managed services offering, as well as adding more UK coverage and industry expertise.