Acquisitions strategy driving Claranet growth

It has been a busy fiscal year for managed services player Claranet and the acquisitions it made just before its financial year ended in June did make a contribution.

The firm has reported a 40% increase in revenue, reaching £216.5m up from £152.5m the previous year.

The acquisitions in the UK that featured in the fiscal year included application management player Ardenta and security firm Sec-1. There were also deals struck in France, Portugal and the Netherlands to bolster the Group operations.

Charles Nasser, founder and CEO of Claranet, said that its growth now gave it the chance to provide more scale and capabilities, "that are increasingly relevant to our customers’ journey, allowing us to develop ever stronger relationships. As we continue to expand our portfolio of services, we are also attracting larger customers with a broader range of services".

“This strategy has enabled us to make significant inroads with upcoming technologies and related services in the areas of Public Cloud, DevOps, Security and Big data," he added.

Nasser also indicated that there would not be a change to its strategy of using acquisition as a means of expanding the business.

"The steps we have taken to grow the business provide the ideal platform from which we can consolidate our position in the market and pursue further growth as the IT services industry continues to evolve and consolidate," he said.

The firm refinanced during the fiscal year, which has given Claranet an acquisition warchest of £80m.

“The investments we’ve made over the past few years in our staff, technical expertise and partnerships mean that we’re now capable of competing with some of the biggest players in the industry, and we fully expect to maintain this momentum into the next financial year," said Nigel Fairhurst, CFO at Claranet.