Arden Group

Adviser to Arden Group, an IT services company, on the sale to babble and LDC.

The deal

Our Corporate Finance team has successfully advised the shareholders of IT and Telecommunications provider Arden Group, on the sale of the company to babble cloud, backed by mid-market PE firm, LDC.

Based in Birmingham, Arden Group’s products and services span communications, IT infrastructure, cloud-based solutions, IT security, IP CCTV and IT support. The company prides itself on being home to some of the brightest minds in IT and Telecoms to help tailor managed service communications solutions for its customers.

The team acted as lead adviser to the owners, completing a thorough marketing and sales process which attracted the attention of numerous prospective acquirers. babble cloud stood out due to the similarities in business structure and customer base. They were attracted by Arden’s strong recurring revenues, complementary sales channels and geographic reach into the midlands. Once selected as the preferred buyer, the team helped structure the transaction and project managed the process through to a successful completion.

London-based babble cloud holdings limited is one of the UK’s leading providers of cloud-based communications technology. Already a market leader in Unified Communication (UCaaS) and cloud-based Contact Centre solutions (CCaaS) the acquisition will strengthen babble’s mobile and IT managed service offering. It will also double babble’s revenue to nearly £20 million and create a combined customer base of more than 1,200 customers. babble cloud has been backed by leading mid-market private equity firm LDC since October 2017.

“It gives me great pride and pleasure to have built up Arden Group into the organisation it is today, but even more to know that babble cloud will protect that legacy. The two organisations are an extremely good fit, our cultures are aligned, Arden’s product portfolio is entirely complementary, and I am confident knowing that our customers will continue to receive the standards of care and attention we have always delivered. We engaged the team due to their strong reputation and market knowledge. It proved to be an excellent decision as from the outset they demonstrated their sector expertise and generated competitive tension in order to maximise returns for the shareholders. As with all deals there were ups and downs, but Iain and Bilal made sure all matters were resolved and a highly satisfactory outcome was achieved.” Nigel Walker, Arden Group’s former Managing Director.

“It’s unusual to get a chance to double the size of a business with a single acquisition but with our purchase of Arden Group we have done exactly that. More importantly we’ve significantly strengthened our product portfolio, added real talent to the leadership and management teams and given ourselves a great footprint outside London with a team that has built a loyal and highly referenceable customer base. This feels more like a merger than an acquisition in that we are bringing two highly complementary businesses together and I am very excited about the future as one team.” Matt Parker, Chief Executive of babble cloud.

Deal summary

Date:

October 2018

Sector:

Technology

Deal type:

Business sale

Deal size:

Undisclosed

It gives me great pride and pleasure to have built up Arden Group into the organisation it is today, but even more to know that babble cloud will protect that legacy. Nigel Walker Former Managing Director at Arden Group

Related team

Bilal Hasan

Bilal Hasan

  • Partner
  • Corporate Finance
  • London West End, Reading