Background
Recarta IT started in 2005 as a spin-off from international technology vendor Power core Holdings. The company specialised in supplying IBMRS 6000 parts in an international brokerage market and, at that time, were the only organisation focusing completely on this area.
Recarta, capitalising in this specialised market,established a reputation for trust and expert support within a select group of customers. The market hardened during the financial turmoil of 2008 but came back strongly in 2010, enabling the company to exploit a computer hardware market dominated by IBM and AIX (IBM’s ‘open’ operating system). This dominance enabled Recarta to reinforce its position, providing both system management and infrastructure solutions,for many ERP applications and working alongside ISV’s such as INFOR.
Today, Recarta IT supports multi-platform infrastructures,with IBM-based services accounting for up to 50% of their revenues. The company looks to continue its upward growth curve through the provision of managed IT services, specifically remote management, patching, hosting, outsourcing and compliance. The client base consists of over 300 satisfied customers, with approximately two-thirds providing recurring revenues.
Daren Bland, MD and founder, says: “We worked hard to establish a reputation for excellence in a crowded market place. We supply vital support services, without which people would be unable to operate their businesses. Recarta are now trusted advisors to a significant number of customers for whom we provide a solid platform for growth, resilience, security and scalability.”
The Challenge:
Like many successful businesses, Recarta’s management team strive to get a good skills and cultural balance within their organisation.Importantly, they are constantly on the lookout for complementary acquisition targets that will dovetail into the existing operation with the minimum of disruption to their clients. Their acquisition of Signature Consulting in 2017 was a case in point and allowed the company to add new skills to their existing portfolio. It also provided a move into new markets of healthcare and medical protection and importantly provided an additional source of renewable revenue.
Bland continues: “We identified another acquisition as long ago as 2016. It was a compelling and complementary fit to our existing portfolio and both parties were keen to move forward to a mutually beneficial conclusion. However, the main challenge was to get to a point where we could both agree on a satisfactory valuation. The seller also needed to be able to convince his own management team and investors that an optimum valuation had been reached. It became obvious that we needed some expert industry advice to get the deal over the line. We were well acquainted with Evolution Capital’s industry reputation and asked them for their input.”
Advice, planning and preparation:
Recarta IT appointed Evolution Capital in October 2018 to provide some specialist advice and guidance on the proposed deal, including establishing a workable valuation that both buyer and seller could agree with.After an initial review of the business, Evolution provided a detailed plan and risk analysis of the deal and progress was made. This included:
1. A review of relevant financial and management information
2. A detailed risk analysis report
3. The preparation of all appropriate documentation
4. The formula for a valuation
Bland adds: “Without Evolution Capital’s input it is fair to say that a conclusion could not have been reached. The company took a very pragmatic approach to the process and set realistic expectations for both parties. Ultimately, they put the deal together for us and given that the hard yards had been done by the time it came to do the due diligence, everything went through very quickly.”
A successful outcome:
Recarta acquired virtualisation and cloud specialist Möbius Business Technologies in May 2019, creating a £15 million value-added reseller in the process. Evolution Capital’s input was crucial to the deal completing in a timely manner.
Bland says: “We were delighted with the successful conclusion of this transaction, which was catalysed by Evolution Capital. The acquisition greatly enhances our IT infrastructure and managed service capability into new IT Vendor areas.”
