adapt grows revenues from £8 million to over £25 million in 12 months. Over 1,500 customers and 300% increase in revenue mark 12 months of success
London, 28 November 2007
adapt, the independent Managed Services Provider offering the broadest choice of next generation technologies, today announced that it has grown revenues from £8 million to £25 million in just 12 months. The news coincides with one year since the management buyout (MBO) that has seen the company established as a leading player in the market. In a significant year for growth by any standards, adapt has experienced some major transformations including:
- Annualised contracted revenues increased by over 300% from £8m to over £25m
- Collaborative deals to provide managed network and data hosting services for over 1,500 customers including CSC, Incisive Media, and many fast growing Web2.0 companies such as Lastfm.com and Cheapflights.com
- Successful re-brand to adapt creating a unique positioning and identity in the market
- Acquisition of Centric Telecom resulting in combined forward contracted revenue worth in excess of £100 million
- Doubled number of employees to over 100
adapt, previously named ‘mnet, was part of the Margolis Group, but rapid growth soon saw the need for it to expand beyond the constraints of the Group and a management buyout followed in 2006. The objective of the MBO was to enable management to have direct control over the strategy, culture, direction and full management of the business.
This was not an easy MBO with the requirement to break up a Group containing five companies each with a director stakeholder having their own agenda. However, it was the astute use of mezzanine finance, with an equity kicker, used to fund the transaction that fulfilled the objective with management retaining 80% of equity within the business. Managed by Alcuin Capital a number of funders were used including Core Capital – a UK private equity firm with £64 million of funds under management. Further support came from HSBC who enabled the transaction to be further leveraged with senior debt.
adapt has enjoyed substantial organic growth alone of over 50%. ‘By utilising our strengths and the strengths of our partners, we are able to provide the most suitable, flexible, cost-effective solutions for our customers, tailored to their unique requirements and business challenges,’ explains Peter Knight, CEO of adapt. ‘adapt has a continued focus to be thought leading, independent experts for next generation technologies which will allow our customers to work with adapt as their trusted partner.’
‘Core Capital invested in adapt as part of the MBO back in 2006 and we have watched the business grow at a rapid rate over the last 12 months," says Stephen Edwards, Partner at Core Capital. ’adapt’s offering meets today’s market demands for a flexible approach backed by top tier management, evidenced by its notable portfolio of clients. The reliability of forward contracted revenues coupled with the growth potential of the business model and an aggressive acquisition strategy makes adapt an attractive and exciting business for further investment.’
‘It has been a remarkable year for adapt since the MBO, in which the company completed an acquisition, tripled employee numbers and has seen the business grow by an astonishing 300%,’ commented Patrick Diggines, Chairman of adapt. ‘However, with growth set to accelerate, the year ahead will have a new set of challenges.’
