ANS Group accelerates expansion with purchase of Alpha
Mon 1st Nov 10 - 6:31

ANS Group, the Manchester and London based Cisco, NetApp and VMware infrastructure specialist announces that it has today acquired the entire issued share capital of Alpha Business Computers Limited ("Alpha") for a consideration of approximately £4.85 million, funded from the Group's cash reserves.

Alpha is a leading independent data-management, storage, backup, virtualisation and data-recovery solutions provider with 28 years' experience in delivering ‘turnkey' solutions that empower businesses, allowing them to manage and secure their vital information. Alpha's management accounts for the ten months to 31st October 2010 indicate that it will show an operating profit of circa £500,000 for the year ending 31st December 2010, with turnover of approximately £15m.

Alpha currently has 40 employees based at offices in London and Manchester; these operations will be consolidated into ANS Group over the course of the next year. Simon Birney, Sales Director, and Howard Johnson, Technical Director, have agreed to join the ANS Group management team following completion.

The acquisition makes ANS Group the most capable independent mid-market IT solution providers in the UK, expanding both its Manchester headquarters and London city office. Combined revenues of the enlarged group are anticipated to exceed £35million, and the merging of the teams increases the employee head-count to over 100 with further recruitment planned. The acquisition of Alpha brings several new accreditations to the Group, including NetApp Star Partner, making ANS Group one of only two UK based partners to hold the highest level of accreditation with both Cisco and NetApp, along with EMC Velocity partner status.

"This is a historic day for ANS Group and Alpha, and for the customers that we serve," said Paul Sweeney, Managing Director of ANS Group. "Independently, each company is a respected industry player, together we will be significantly stronger. Combined we will continue to serve our customers - whatever their size or sector - with one of the most comprehensive, competitive and innovative portfolios in the industry. Alpha's staff have proven that they match the quality culture of ANS with the recent award by NetApp as the best ‘Professional Services Partner 2010'. I am very much looking forward to working with them."

"Today marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the company," said Scott Fletcher, Chairman and Founder of ANS Group. "Customers will benefit from the breadth and depth of our solutions, our commitment to quality and our ability to provide truly first-class service delivery. The combined scale and strength that this acquisition brings will benefit all customers as they continue to transform their technology environments. This is an important step forward for ANS and our ability to solve business challenges through practical technology innovations that deliver valuable results, such as our next-generation Data Centre strategy, Infrastructure 3.0"

David Mair, Managing Director at Alpha "The combined capabilities of the two businesses are very compelling; dedication towards quality and customer satisfaction makes ANS a force to be reckoned with, providing customers with a partner that they can trust and that can truly drive down costs and increase operational efficiencies whilst offering a platform for employees to flourish."