Business services provider adds Aurora Telecoms and Synotio customer bases to its portfolio.
Business services provider Verastar is continuing its strategic growth programme – with the acquisition of two telecoms customer bases. These latest additions take Verastar’s total acquisitions to 12 in the last 3 years, pushing its customer base to well over 150,000 SMEs.
Verastar is a leading provider of essential services to small businesses. Providing fixed and mobile telecommunications, broadband, insurance, water, electricity and gas services to 10 per cent of the UK’s small business market.
It completed the acquisitions of Aurora Telecoms and Synotio this summer. Business Development and Strategy Director Piotr Nowosad, says: ‘‘We are delighted to welcome former Aurora Telecoms and Synotio customers to the Verastar family. As a business, we’ve got two really clear aims: to grow our customer base and to increase the number of services we can supply to those customers.
“Verastar now services 10 per cent of small businesses in the UK with a multi-product offering – business water, energy, broadband, telecoms and insurance – all from one provider and on one bill. No-one else offers that range of services in that way.
“Our newly acquired customers will benefit from the same market leading expertise and customer service as existing customers. They will also be able to access all their essential services from us on one bill, making business owners’ lives easier and freeing up their time to focus on running their companies.”
The acquisition of Chester-based Aurora Telecoms was completed in July 2018 and builds on the firms’ existing sales relationship. Verastar used their extensive acquisitions experience and a number of key supplier relationships, to offer a seamless transition for Aurora’s business customers.
Speaking about the acquisition, Scott Christie, Verastar Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions Manager says: “Having completed 12 acquisitions in the last three years, ranging in size from a few hundred customers to more than 20,000, we have expertly refined our processes to ensure a smooth transaction – and this deal was no different.
“Aurora were extremely good to work with throughout and we were able to build a positive working relationship that enabled us to complete the transaction in a matter of weeks.”
Jenny Linney, Chief Financial Officer at Aurora’s parent company, Credico, says: “The sale of our SME telecoms customer base to Verastar has allowed us to monetise the value of an element of our business to help deliver future growth in customer acquisitions. The customer transfer was managed by Verastar throughout, which made the process incredibly simple from our perspective. We found Verastar very easy to deal with, they were open and transparent throughout our negotiations, and all payments have been made in full and on time, in accordance with our agreement.”
The second acquisition of Manchester-based Synotio Business Communications customer base completes the transfer of its entire remaining B2B customer base. Verastar had already completed multiple customer transfers from the business as part of an on-going relationship over a number of years, enabling it to accelerate its growth through continued reinvestment. Having built a sizable customer base, this latest transaction has now allowed the shareholders a complete exit from the business.
Acquisitions remain a core part of Verastar’s strategy for continued growth.
Thinking of selling? Even if the time is not right yet, it may be worth starting the conversation. Contact Scott Christie on 0161 946 4585 or email scott.christie@verastar.co.uk.
