North West IT specialist snapped up in ninth acquisition by London group
Chorley specialist IT managed services provider, Orca IT, has been acquired, for an undisclosed sum.
FluidOne, the London-based £113m turnover secure connected cloud solutions firm, has swooped in a deal which grows its presence in IT and Cyber Security Managed Services, introduces a local presence in the North West and adds further specialism in Professional Services, while keeping it on track for its goal to treble in size over the next five years.
Orca IT, co-founded by Managing Director Mark Tunstall and Technical Director Alex Pimperton, specialises in delivering end-to-end managed IT services, support, hosted desktop, cloud solutions and strategic guidance, with more than 20 years of experience of working with professional services organisations.
This is the first acquisition since FluidOne secured a committed acquisition facility with Pemberton in June this year.
Orca is the company’s ninth acquisition since an MBO led by Russell Horton in 2019. The acquisition strategy over these years has seen the business quadruple in size and pivot to be one of the UK’s leading IT and Cyber Security-led managed service providers, now being more than 50% in IT and Cyber revenue streams with Orca now on board.
Also, following the acquisition of SureCloud Cyber Services in March this year, the FluidOne group now employs 540 people across nine office locations.
Russell Horton said: “I couldn’t be more pleased that Mark, Alex and the team at Orca are joining FluidOne, building on our strategic, long term growth strategy.
“Orca is a great business that matches the values and vision FluidOne has established and strives for. We’re delighted to bolster our IT Centre of Excellence with its expertise and to provide support for Orca’s team to scale their business and deliver wider FluidOne offerings to their customers.”
Mark Tunstall, Finance and Managing Director, Orca IT, said: “We are excited about the prospect of what this acquisition means for the staff and clients of Orca.
“With the backing of FluidOne, we will be able to extend our reach within professional services, including Accountants.
“By becoming a regional branch of FluidOne’s, we’ll be able to build on our strengths in IT Managed Services, drawing on support from the group and adding further Cyber Security services, as well as Connectivity, Mobile and Unified Communications.”
Post-acquisition, FluidOne’s CEO, Russell Horton, is to become Chairman of Orca IT, with FluidOne directors Simon Ward and Chris Rogers also becoming board directors.
