Tag Archives: business services

News

Leading names in sales, marketing and comms unite to launch experts platform for business

PROMINENT names in sales, marketing and communications have joined forces to launch a new online membership that offers small businesses access to expert training and advice.

My Expert Team (MET) launches today (Weds), a virtual platform focused on supporting SMEs and small businesses in North Wales and the North West.

Founded by Dawn Roberts, Managing Director of Outperform Training and Coaching, the ‘Netflix-style’ monthly subscription gives users unlimited access to hours of content on a wide range of topics.

Members can access masterclasses delivered by small business experts, attend live networking events, interactive panel discussions and Q&A sessions, and capitalise on services tailored to their requirements and priorities.

There is also a pay-as-you-go option and a monthly package to choose from.

Joining her are Caroline Sanger-Davies, Director and Principal Consultant at Experience Marketing in Hawarden, and Martin Williams, Director of Radar PR, which has offices in St Asaph and Rhyl.

Having led sales teams and delivered training to thousands of people in the private and public sectors across the UK for more than 20 years, Dawn says MET will give members the opportunity to grow their reputations and customer bases while meeting new people and having key information and advice at their fingertips.

“For many organisations, hiring someone to come to their workplace and carry out this kind of training would prove expensive, and, given the economic challenges we are all facing, difficult to justify – My Expert Team is a solution to that problem,” said Dawn, from Prestatyn.

“The driving force behind this is giving people access to advice they might not otherwise be able to afford, smaller companies, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and sole traders who are often unsure what steps to take to achieve success.

“By that we don’t just mean financially, but in terms of growing, providing better customer service, sharing their story, communicating with each other, and building networks.

“We will be adding further topics – finance, HR, accounting, recruitment, AI, web design, photography and videography, event management and everything in between – and want to make this a valuable, end-to-end experience for everyone.”

She added: “Having Caroline and Martin as part of the team is fantastic as they have so much experience in the worlds of marketing, public relations, journalism, social media, and communications.

“Every business is unique, so the support they need must be unique too, without unrealistic targets and complicated processes.

“The feedback we’ve had has been so positive, more than 50 members have already signed up and we expect that to rise in the days and weeks ahead, with more experts joining as well.”

At just £29 a month, the MET subscription costs less than £1 a day over the course of the year.

Martin believes the membership will grow to become a crucial source of information and inspiration for companies across the region and said: “We have all spent hours in a room with no windows receiving training that could have been delivered in minutes, a waste of time and resources for the employee and employer, and that’s before travel and subsequent costs.

“This is the perfect way for businesses to access resources that will allow people to learn from the workplace or even at home when it suits them.

“And as a member there are many other facets to this, including events and live sessions which will feature members and experts from across different sectors – I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Caroline added: “MET is such a simple concept, it does not come with a huge price tag and as every business is unique, the range of experts and content is varied so there will be something for everyone.

“As well as online masterclasses and videos we will be hosting live events in person as well on a regular basis, which will bring people together to share their stories, learn from each other and let us know what training they want, and need.

“We are excited to see how this develops, it could be a game-changer for how we access experts in this part of the world and beyond.”

To join My Expert Team (MET) and for more information, visit www.myexpertteam.co.uk and follow them on social media @myexpertteam.

FInance, News, North of England, Technology

WeDo Business Services continues expansion with takeover of Lucid Networks

Fast-growing WeDo Business Services has expanded with the acquisition of Manchester-based IT services consultancy Lucid Networks.

Lucid is being integrated into the group’s WeDo Digital business, which has a team of more than 50 specialists providing digital innovation, design, development and support services.

The acquisition of Lucid brings to the group a range of IT services, from complex infrastructure projects and cyber security through to back-up hosting solutions and day-to-day IT strategy delivery.

Lucid, which was founded in 2010, was owned by James Balderstone and was based at Manchester Science Park. The business has built a long-standing customer base across the UK. Its workforce has transferred to WeDo Digital’s offices at MediaCityUK in Salford.

WeDo Digital is led by tech entrepreneurs Luke Pilfold-Thomas and Lee Turver, who have more than 25 years’ industry experience between them.

Luke said the acquisition of Lucid further expands the capabilities of WeDo Digital and bolsters the offering of the wider group. Further recruitment for the division is under way in the digital business.

Luke said: “Lee and I recently joined the group to spearhead the development of WeDo Digital, and we are thrilled to bring in the team from Lucid Networks and managed IT services expertise as the next stage in our growth.

“We were looking to increase our digital offering to include more traditional IT managed services and wanted to acquire a north west business with a strong record of customer retention. Lucid has developed and maintained an excellent business and client base over the years, with many of its customer relationships spanning more than a decade, so it fitted the bill perfectly.

“We will continue to offer the highest level of service and technology innovation across applications and infrastructure to its customers to help them build and grow their own businesses, as well as being able to offer this expertise to clients of the wider WeDo group.”

Andrew Livesey and Matthew Catterall, of north west law firm Taylors Solicitors, advised WeDo on its acquisition of Lucid Networks.

Andrew said: “We were very pleased to be asked to continue to provide legal support and advice to WeDo as it continues its expansion with the acquisition of the Lucid Networks business.

“WeDo is continuing to make headlines with its innovative approach to business and it is a great to be trusted advisers to the group. We look forward to working with the team in the future as the business continues to expand.”

Founded in 2019 by Mark Lindsay and Chris Robinson with just four staff, WeDo Business Services has grown organically and through acquisitions.

It now employs almost 100 people across its headquarters in Oldham and offices in Colchester, Sheffield, Swindon and Salford.

The group provides a range of services to small and medium-sized companies, including invoice and trade finance, start-up funding, HR, back office and payroll support, as well as IT and digital services.

Appointments, News

Trio promoted at accountancy firm HURST

Accounting and business advisory firm HURST has promoted three rising stars to associate manager level.

The trio are Oliver Cross and Ellie Wild in HURST’s business services team and Jack Moore in the tax team.

Oliver was recruited to the practice in 2017 as an audit senior while Ellie joined as a graduate trainee accountant in 2015 and qualified two years later. Jack joined HURST in April last year as a tax senior.

HURST partner and director of practice development Simon Brownbill said: “Joining us early in their careers, Ollie and Ellie have become invaluable members of the team, and we welcome their promotion to management positions.

“In a short period of time, Jack has really impressed us with his skills and knowledge. We see his promotion as recognition of his stellar performance, and the central role he will play as the team continues to grow and develop.

“These promotions reflect our ongoing commitment to promoting talented individuals within the firm and giving them the opportunity to further their careers with us.”

HURST, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, focuses on advising entrepreneurial owner-managed companies with turnover of £5m and above.

Clients include leading entrepreneurial businesses such as Kinaxia Logistics, M&I Materials, London Lash, Beechfield Brands, Duerr’s, Oliver Valves and Delamere Dairy.

Meanwhile the firm has also recruited three trainee accountants to its growing team.

They are Ewan Lawson, who has a maths and economics degree from the University of Strathclyde, Tirath Panesar, who graduated in accounting and finance at the University of Leeds, and Miles Redgrave, who has an astrophysics degree from Loughborough University.

In another development, Mimi Weir-Bennett has taken on a new role at HURST as its dedicated HR and quality associate. She joined the practice as a personal assistant in 2015, then moved to its HR and business support team.

Mimi’s new role will see her support and promote best practice across the firm.

Acquisitions & Partnerships, Business, IT Services, Mergers & Acquisitions

Digitalisation of global business helps turbocharge IT & Business Services M&A, says Hampleton Partners’ report

London, UK – 3 February 2022. The latest IT & Business Services M&A market report from Hampleton Partners, the international technology mergers and acquisitions advisor, reveals a 23 per cent increase in the number of M&A transactions in the second-half of 2021 compared to 2H2020 – 538 deals compared to 437.

As for the whole year, 902 deals were recorded in 2021 compared to 818 deals in 2020, a 10 per cent increase in the number of M&A transactions between 2020 and 2021.

Hampleton’s report identifies several key sector trends, including: the role of private equity players accounting for 35 per cent of all transactions over the past 30 months, and financial acquirers paying out higher EBITDA at 10.3x compared to 8.4x for their strategic counterparts.

Miro Parizek, founder & principal partner, Hampleton Partners, said: “Global IT services spending is anticipated to continue strongly in 2022 after the astronomical increases seen in 2021. We are now wholly familiar with the idea that the changes in workforce behaviour towards remote and hybrid models catalysed digitalisation. The divergence from traditional, pre-pandemic work environments instilled greater demand for cloud-based services to replace legacy, on-site infrastructure. Firms are being forced to respond to this reorientation by increasing investment and IT budgets. This has turbo-charged M&A activity in the sector.”

Top acquirers still strong in 2H2021
Prolific acquirer, Accenture, continued its acquisition spree in 2H2021, acquiring a further 20 companies in the six months to December. The company’s acquisitions in 2H2021 fell into three categories: firstly, firms operating within an IT vendor ecosystem such as Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, or AWS; secondly, IT consultancies focused on horizontal technologies such as cybersecurity; and finally, consultancies catering to specific verticals such as manufacturing and digital commerce.

Professional services firms continue to make the most acquisitions overall, with notable activity from Accenture and Deloitte who are looking to serve all new client needs in the cloud.

Top two acquirers over the past 30-month period and their three latest acquisitions 

Accenture – 84 acquisitions
Headspring LLC software & consulting services
Tambourine Inc. Salesforce-based e-commerce SaaS development
ClearEdge Partners Inc. outsourced services

Presidio – 17 acquisitions
Arkphire Ireland Ltd. [dba Arkphire] Irish IT services
Coda Global LLC cloud consulting & managed IT services
Home Theater Technologies smart systems integrator

IT & Business Services M&A 2022
Miro Parizek, said: “The increase in deal volume perhaps comes as verticals dependent on the expertise provided by the IT Services market reach an inflexion point: adapt to the reorientation in market drivers or fall by the wayside.

“In 2022, we anticipate that transaction volume in the sector will plateau and that valuation metrics will either remain stable or continue their upwards trajectory in the case of EV/EBITDA.”

Hampleton’s IT & Business Services M&A report analyses transactions, trends and activity across the Integration, Technology and Support Services segments as well as IT Outsourcing.

Download the full Hampleton Partners’ IT & Business Services M&A Market Report 1H2022:
https://www.hampletonpartners.com/reports/it-business-services-report/