Cameo picks up Agilitas customer base

Questions over the state of Agilitas swirled around the channel earlier this month were well-founded, with the business calling in administrators late last week.

The long-standing channel player revealed on its website that it had appointed Michael Magnay and Rob Croxen of Alvarez & Marsal Europe as joint administrators tasked with attracting interest in the business.

Agilitas had been facing increasing challenges, with its most recent revenues for the financial year ending March 31 declining by 26% from £17.7m to £13m as the result of losing a major contract. Operating losses increased significantly from £1.5m in 2023 to £8.9m in 2024. The Nottingham-based business had around 100 staff and had been trying to change its fortunes with senior management changes. The results also indicated the business was getting through cash at an unsustainable rate and was attempting to attract fresh funding.

The reshuffling of the management deck included appointing a fresh CEO, choosing the then-COO Sarah Wilkes last November. She was joined by Gary Lomas, who became chief revenue officer, and then Kirsty Walker as chief finance officer.

Speaking about the most recent results, when they were published back in June, Wilkes talked up the prospects for the business this year, stating that “the fundamentals to grow the business are now firmly in place”.

Clearly, the challenging market conditions that have affected the channel this year, with customers slow to sign-off investments against a backdrop of economic and political uncertainty, hindered attempts to turn the business around.

The first move by the administrators was to find a buyer for the Agilitas customer base, with fellow channel player Cameo Services coming in to pick up the customer base, which will provide continuity of service for partners and customers.

“We recognise the uncertainty faced by Agilitas’ partners and customers during this difficult period. Our acquisition of the maintenance contract base is designed to provide stability, continuity and enhanced value to our partner community,” said Luke Walker, managing director of Cameo Services.

The move also bolsters Cameo’s ambitions to be one of the UK’s largest IT service players.

“Cameo is in a position to acquire this customer base due to our continued investment in our operational and logistical infrastructure. Furthermore, this will enable us to bolster our current national team of over 70 engineers. Cameo’s experienced technical and operational teams are committed to delivering best-in-class support and a seamless transition,” he added.

The Agilitas website simply contains the statement announcing the appointment of administrators and no other contact details or information about the staff and management.

The response of the collapse of the business has seen fellow channel players take to social media platforms to highlight vacancies to Agilitas staff affected, with many compliments over the quality of the work done by those who worked for the stricken business.

One source stated that the talent and dedication of the Agilitas staff was recognised throughout the industry and encouraged those with openings to look towards the staff who unfortunately now found themselves looking for work.