Thanks to Paul Kunert at The Register for the heads up on the recently completed MBO at Trustmarque Solutions. The buy-out of the business (for £43m) was led by CEO, Scott Haddow, and sales and marketing director, Angelo di Ventura. Both had previously been brought in by Lloyds Development Capital in 2009 to transform the company. This time around Haddow and di Ventura received financial backing from mid-market private equity specialist, Dunedin.
Trustmarque’s roots are firmly in resale (it was founded 25 years ago and was Microsoft's first Gold partner in the UK), but it’s been moving further into services over the years. “Services-driven” revenues now account for 33% of its £131m total turnover. In 2011, Trustmarque acquired Nimbus Technology Systems, a small firm focused on cloud solutions for the mid-market. Needless to say, further investment from Dunedin would potentially position Trustmarque for additional purchases.
We’re hoping to speak to Haddow shortly to understand more about how the services side of the business will evolve during this next phase.