Communications firm swallowed in £48.5m deal

TECHNOLOGY group Azzurri Communications, based in Burnley, has been bought in a £48.5m deal by a stock market-listed group.

Maintel Holdings will raise £24m on the Alternative Investment Market to part-fund the deal as it plots expansion through a broader revenue base which includes larger and more complex contracts.

Azzurri employs 500 people across its five sites. It was founded in 2000 and offers a variety of communication services to the public and private sectors.

Chris Jagusz, chief execuitve of Azzurri, said: “We are really pleased at the prospect of joining Maintel because this enables the combined business to offer its customers a broader range of services. Our employees will benefit too by being part of one of the most significant players in our market.”

The enlarged group will provide a broad suite of solutions and services, and will become one of the largest resellers in the communications sector.

Eddie Buxton, chief executive at Maintel, said: “This acquisition will accelerate Maintel’s shift into hosted cloud and data, ensuring we are well positioned to take advantage of these high growth areas of the unified communications market.

“It will also build scale in managed services, continuing the shift in our business mix, which we have been driving following previous acquisitions.”

Maintel has today also announced 2015 revenues of £50.6m, rising from £41.9m a year earlier, which was driven by the integration of its previous acquisitions of Datapoint and Proximity Communications as well as organic growth.