Buyout secures future of Lancs telecoms business

A long-established Lancashire telecoms business has undergone a management buyout backed by a six-figure loan from Mercia Fund Managers.

The deal, which will secure the future of Abbey Telecom and the jobs of its 17 staff, gives control of the business to an existing director, Andy Wilson, and the company’s accountant, Andrew Botham.

Abbey Telecom provides business telephone systems and services including calls, broadband, wi-fi, hosted telephony, IT support and business mobiles to clients throughout the UK, ranging from small businesses to multinationals.

Andy Wilson, who now becomes managing director, joined the business four years ago to help to drive its growth.

He has extensive experience within the telecoms and software sectors, having held senior roles at BT and at Ryder Systems in Blackburn, which he helped to grow from a small firm to an international business and which was sold to a US corporation.

Andrew Botham, who joins the board as a non-executive director, is a Chartered Certified Accountant and entrepreneur who was previously the principal in Mayes Accountants in Accrington.

Mercia is one of the few loan providers able to fund management buyouts in small firms.

Its EV SME Loans fund provides loans of between £150,000 and £1m to established and growing SMEs across the UK.

Peter Rooney, investment manager at Mercia, said: “Abbey Telecom is an established Lancashire business which has been growing year-on-year.

“Andy and Andrew both have a strong track record in their fields and with their industry knowledge and business acumen they are ideally placed to take it from strength to strength.”