Air IT has its sights firmly set on further M&A after its latest double deal took it to beyond £30m in annual revenue run rate. The acquisitions of MFG UK and INFINITY are the seventh and eighth that the MSP has completed over the last 12 months following private equity investment at the start of 2020, almost quadrupling sales from the £8m it was at prior to its expansion. Speaking in a video interview with UC Today, Air IT CEO John Whitty said that the firm has recently raised capital to continue its shopping spree, with the aim to acquire four businesses a year and double in size over the next 24 months. “We’ve been very fortunate and able to raise a war chest of £75m over the last few weeks, which means we’ve now got the firepower to go and find other brilliant businesses and bring them together to fulfill the appetite we’ve got to get national reach,” he said.
“We’re looking at more of the same in terms of creating depth and footprint, but we also looking at more niche things such as more security, more business intelligence, more digital transformation, more Dynamics...”
The growth over the last year has seen the Air IT team grow from 70 heads to 270. The first three of the eight businesses acquired have been integrated with no redundancies, with Whitty saying that the goal is to retain all staff, rather than look for synergies. So far, the business has made 40 internal promotions this year by moving employees into group roles. Air IT’s customer base has also rocketed from 140 to 1,200, with organic growth maintaining in the double-digits.
- Stay tuned to UC Today to view our full video interview with John Whitty
