Trustmarque has acquired software asset management (SAM) consultancy Livingstone in a midmarket growth play.
Reading-based Livingstone employs around 150 staff. It turned over £17 million in calendar 2021. Trustmarque said the deal will bolster its existing capabilities in SAM, cloud and licensing.
“This transaction is the first step in an ambitious growth strategy to accelerate the consolidation of mid-market IT services in the UK,” it stated.
Founded in 2010, Livingstone had been majority owned since 2018 by Carlyle Group. The outfit has been becoming more important as end users look to optimise their software estates in the wake of big vendor price hikes.
Capita offloaded Trustmarque to One Equity Partners for £111 million last April, as part of a non-core divestment strategy. It had acquired it six years earlier for around half the price.
Trustmarque CEO Ben Richardson said: “Today marks an exciting milestone, as we welcome the Livingstone team to Trustmarque. This acquisition will enable us to use the data-driven knowledge of Livingstone to benefit Trustmarque’s customers. Together, we are ready to collaborate to deliver superior transparency and control over our customers’ IT investments.”
