Managed service provider Claranet has written a cheque for firms in the UK, France and Portugal as part of its cunning plan to become a European player.
Claranet has gone through refinancing, which provides it with an acquisition facility of £80 million.
It has written a cheque for Leeds-based Sec-1, which is a security outfit with a turnover of £6 million and comes with 60 staff. The firm’s founders Matt Hawnt and Gary O’Leary-Steele will remain with Claranet.
In France, it bought Oxalide which is a DevOps and cloud specialist with a turnover of £15 million.
It bought ITEN Solutions in Portugal with revenues of £69 million and 360 staff. The firm had itself been created by merging two of the largest players in that market and now makes Claranet one of the main operators in the country.
Charles Nasser, founder and CEO of the Claranet Group said that the growth, combined with acquisitions made the company a significant operation in the managed IT services market in Europe.
“These latest acquisitions represent a significant step forward for Claranet, confirming our market-leading position in France and Portugal and boosting our Group-wide security and application management capabilities for the benefit of our customers,” he added.
Nasser expects to see a continued consolidation of the European managed services market over the next 24-months and we are on a strong footing in all major markets in Western Europe.
