Cardiff-based Leading Edge Group (UK) Limited, the country’s largest outsourced provider of BT products and services, has announced its acquisition of Contrac IT (Venridge Limited), a premier IT managed service provider with bases in Barnsley, Durham, and Malaga.
The deal marks Leading Edge’s first acquisition outside of its traditional BT services focus, supporting its strategy to reach new customers and broaden its service capabilities.
Leading Edge has driven meteoric growth in revenue and profitability in recent years, with top-line growth of over 100% in the last two financial years. The integration of Contrac IT’s capabilities and customer base will help drive further growth, broadening Leading Edge’s offerings and enhancing its presence in England and Spain.
Daniel Hill, CEO of Leading Edge (UK), said: “This acquisition is a major strategic step for Leading Edge, enabling us to diversify our portfolio and expand our reach. Utilising Contrac IT’s proven expertise and customer service, enabling us to access new markets.
We are excited to develop the UK group, with knowledge and insights that will enable future growth opportunities, whilst providing enhanced customer services across both companies”.
Contrac IT, known for its high-quality IT services, serves a wide range of clients. Its managing director, Mark Harding, will stay on to lead the company, working closely with the Leading Edge Group Senior Leadership team. “We’re excited to join Leading Edge, a company that shares our commitment to service excellence,” said Harding. “With their support, we’re well-positioned for new growth opportunities.”
Leading Edge was advised by the corporate finance team at Dow Schofield Watts in Cardiff, which provided corporate finance deal negotiation and end-to-end process management services, led by Koo Aseeley, supported by Benjamin Nix, as well as financial and tax due diligence, led by Catriona Lang and Rob Parker. Barclays Bank provided funding to support the acquisition, demonstrating its confidence in the future growth potential of both Leading Edge and Contrac IT.
Koo Aseeley, corporate finance partner at Dow Schofield Watts in Cardiff, said: “Contrac IT is a highly regarded business that strengthens Leading Edge’s service offering, and provides exciting opportunities for growth. The deal highlights the strength of Leading Edge’s strategy, and we look forward to seeing both businesses build on their growth trajectories with the support of Barclays funding.”
The Dow Schofield Watts Corporate Finance team also recently advised the shareholders of Exeter-based hosted desktop services provider, HDUK, on their sale to Dutch managed service provider Your.Cloud. The transaction is the first UK acquisition for the Dutch entity and the second cloud-based services mandate that Dow Schofield Watts has completed in recent weeks.
“This transaction marked the Leading Edge UK leadership team’s first acquisition, so it was essential to find an advisor we could trust and who would be a true partner throughout this significant learning experience for us.
From our very first meeting, it was clear that Koo and the team at DSW were the perfect fit. Their guidance through, what turned out to be an exceptionally complex sale process was nothing short of outstanding. The advice we received was thoughtful, strategic, and always delivered in a collaborative spirit.
Koo and the DSW team demonstrated unwavering commitment and responsiveness, often working outside of standard hours to accommodate our Australian-based Board. Their availability, professionalism, and depth of expertise made a genuine difference at every stage of the process. We thoroughly enjoyed working with DSW and are deeply grateful for their support. Without hesitation, they would be our first choice for any future M&A activity”.
Dow Schofield Watts’ Midlands office has advised JPS Projects, a leading provider of specialist retrofit services with operations in Manchester, Chesterfield and Hemel Hempstead, on its private equity investment from Cordovan Capital Management.
