Livingstone’s IT services team has advised the shareholders of Backup Technology on the sale of the business to iomart Group for GBP23m, a 9.6x multiple of historic EBITDA.
Backup Technology is a provider of managed data backup and disaster recovery services to SMEs and large corporates. Using software from Canadian developer Asigra, the business protects over 10 petabytes of data for over 200 customers, including household names such as the British Red Cross, Siemens, Pernod Ricard and Liverpool FC.
iomart is one of Europe’s largest providers of cloud computing services, serving in excess of 300,000 customers through several distinct brands – iomart Hosting, RapidSwitch, Melbourne Server Hosting, Easyspace and iomartcloud.
“The Livingstone team were instrumental in running a tight process and were absolutely committed to achieving the best result for the shareholders. They really got underneath the skin of the business and provided excellent hands-on support. Their guidance and advice throughout the process, from start to finish, was invaluable and ensured the deal got across the line,” says Simon Chappell, chief executive, Backup Technology.
“Backup Technology had all the quality characteristics one looks for in an IT Services business – strong growth, high margins and recurring revenue, and a ‘sticky’ customer base. Through an intensely competitive process, we are delighted to have helped Simon and Ritchie realise a great deal with iomart,” says Simon Cope-Thompson, partner, Livingstone.
This deal marks Livingstone’s third IT services transaction of 2013, following the debt refinancing of Trustmarque Solutions for Dunedin, and TIGL’s acquisition of The Internet Group.
