UKFast completes first acquisition

UKFAST has completed its first acquisition after buying the UK business of US hosting company BurstNET.

The Manchester hosting and datacentre group’s chief executive Lawrence Jones said the deal would give it an extra 1,350 customers and add between £5m-£6m to the company’s value.

It will push UKFast’s customer base up by 30% to 6,000. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Mr Jones said: “BurstNET had 10 racks with Telecity in Manchester but they went out to the market and came across our datacentres and decided to move to us as a customer. Getting to know them drove the whole process as they explained they were finding it hard as everything in the UK – datacentres, electricity, and technical people – are all more expensive.

“I just saw an opportunity and made them an offer they couldn’t refuse, so it worked well for us. It’s our first deal, but it’s a big deal – bigger than what I thought we would do at this stage.”

BurstNET’s chief executive Shawn Arcus said: “We approached Lawrence initially to discuss the migration of 10 racks from Telecity because of the value proposition UKFast could offer. We realised quickly that UKFast, with a strong focus on the UK, could offer our UK customers an enhanced level of service.”

The transaction completed days after the £20m turnover company appointed Catherine Houghton as its first mergers and acquisitions director.

She said: “This is an exciting first step in our M&A programme and we already have a number of other acquisition opportunities in the pipeline which are currently under assessment.”

UKFast was advised on the deal by Pinsent Masons, led by corporate partner Howard Gill, and assisted by senior associate Sarah Flinn.