daisy completes acquisition of Economy Calls |
Daisy Communications Ltd (daisy) has completed its first acquisition of the calendar year after victory in the inaugural Bank of Scotland Entrepreneur Challenge.
Prior to its national victory in December, the Lancashire-based fixed line communications provider was awarded £5m in interest-free funding in the Northern Final, money it allocated to pursue its acquisition strategy in the telecoms market.
Following completion of the acquisition on Thursday, worth an estimated £3.6m in annual revenue, daisy has boosted its customer base by 25%, with more than 5,700 business end users transferred from Cardiff-based telecoms reseller Economy Calls.
And as with previous acquisitions the company has undertaken, daisy was able to swiftly take over customer care and billing, with the end user base successfully integrated prior to completion.
daisy CEO Matthew Riley said the deal was further evidence of the company's intention to grow through its ongoing acquisition strategy, an approach bolstered by the funding and support made available through the Entrepreneur Challenge.
He said: "It was always our intention to use the £5m funding from Bank of Scotland as the foundation to pursue acquisitions in the fragmented reseller market and working closely with the bank, this deal is the first of several.
"We have enjoyed a prolific relationship with Bank of Scotland Corporate since success in the Entrepreneur Challenge last year and the acquisition of Economy Calls further supports this and underlines the bank's commitment to enterprise."
He also pledged that customers migrating from Economy Calls would continue to enjoy the same standard of care and provision, but could now take advantage of an improved service offering from a company that specialises in providing communications to small-medium sized enterprises.
Tony Thomas, managing director of Economy Calls, echoed these comments. He said: "daisy was a great company to deal with, and I was very impressed with Matthew Riley and his team when I met them. I had spoken to other companies in the past, but it was daisy which stood out as the one to do business with.
"I see this deal as a real progression for our customers. They will now have access to a much wider range of products than what we could offer ourselves and, of course, they will benefit from daisy's outstanding customer care."
Richard Smith, Director of commercial banking at Bank of Scotland Corporate, played a key role throughout, providing the funding for the acquisition.
He said: "I am happy that, following the entrepreneur challenge victory, Bank of Scotland Corporate has been able to further the company's ambitions by providing funding for this acquisition, and I look forward to continuing to work with daisy on future plans. As a bank we back entrepreneurs and the funding is further evidence of our commitment to people like Matthew Riley who are the lifeblood of commerce."
David McGlennon of international law firm Eversheds, who advised daisy on the acquisition, said: "daisy is a rapidly growing and exciting business and we are delighted to have been able to work with them to help secure this acquisition. Completion of this deal marks another step forward in daisy's growth and underlines the capabilities of the Eversheds' corporate team in the telecoms sector.
"Daisy is a north-west success story and we are extremely pleased to be able to assist them in their growth."
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