HybrIT was set up by CEO Paul Forkgen in 2013 in a garden shed with the help of a £25k personal loan. The business offers a broad range of managed and professional IT services to clients across the UK and New Zealand, ranging from SMEs to major PLC’s.
The shareholders, whilst busy delivering on their internal growth ambitions, engaged Watersheds to find and deliver a strategic acquisition opportunity that would provide a material “step up” in that growth.
The acquisition of Brightcloud Technologies has created a significantly larger group, with an enhanced service offering and position in the market.
Watersheds partner Tim Harrington said: “We had been working with Paul and the management team for a couple of years to find and deliver the right acquisition to supplement their strong organic growth strategy. As with all such engagements, we cast the net wide to find the right opportunities, then narrowed those down to the ones that would have the greatest impact for HybrIT. The vast majority of these were “off-market” opportunities, offering best value for our client.
Because we handle all the complexities of completing an acquisition, such as negotiating a viable price and structure, sourcing competitive funding, and managing due diligence, the HybrIT team were able focus on the “day-job” and not get distracted or overburdened. As a result, HybrIT managed to increase its own revenue by around 50 per cent, even as the deal was being progressed.
Companies with ambitious growth plans can draw on Watersheds’ experience and contacts to grow by acquisition, often without the shareholders having to contribute significant cash or reduce their shareholding. Such acquisitions, if done well, can be a real game changer for SMEs.
HybrIT has plans for significant further growth, and we look forward to continuing on that journey with them in due course.”