Babble, a leading UK technology company transforming how ambitious businesses use next generation business tools, has today announced the acquisition of Stockport and Ellesmere Port-based IT and telecoms solution provider, Active.
Active has expertise across Unified Comms, Mobile and Cyber with over 500 customers in various sectors across the North of England. Active’s CEO, Mark Boyle, will initially remain as part of the new combined organisation and will be a fantastic asset in supporting the integration process and beyond.
The acquisition reinforces Babble’s commitment to the North-West adding additional scale, presence, capability and expertise following the 2021 acquisition of Concert and 2020 acquisition of Lake. Babble now has staff and offices in Winsford, Ellesmere Port and Stockport.
Acquiring regional businesses, which are embedded into their communities, means Babble can continue to deliver bespoke solutions based on a business’s unique needs.
Matt Parker, Babble CEO, says: “We’re excited to have the opportunity to acquire a business of Active’s quality and that its CEO, Mark, will be helping us on our ongoing journey. His experience of business in the North is unparalleled and we are both aligned in Babble’s mission to help ambitious businesses succeed in this region.”
“Whilst we’re growing rapidly, our core purpose continues to be to provide all our clients with the personalised and local service that they expect, regardless of where they are in the country. Our strategy of acquiring great businesses across the UK allows us to successfully do just that. Babble is going to continue to grow, which will only benefit our clients.”
Mark Boyle, Active CEO, says: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Active’s customers and staff. Being part of a company like Babble means we can provide an even better service to our customers and provide them more opportunities to grow. We’ll make sure that they continue to receive the same level of excellent service as before, with a seamless integration into the Babble family.”
Since 2018, Babble has completed 17 acquisitions in the UK leading to revenues of over £40 million last year, and in 2021 they were the most acquisitive technology company in the UK. Following the acquisition of Active, Babble now has more than 5,000 customers with a presence across the South Coast, the North-West, the North-East and Scotland, in addition to the Midlands and London.
About Babble:
Babble is a leading technology business that is reimagining how we do work. Founded in 2001, the company works with over 5,000 organisations in a wide range of sectors – including financial, health and education, travel and accommodation, and public services – by sourcing deploying and supporting locally the very best cloud solutions.
Babble’s growth over the last few years is one of the big success stories in its industry. This is demonstrated by the private equity investment of Graphite Capital in November 2020 – which was supported by reinvestment from LDC and management – to accelerate the buy and build strategy for the business. Annual revenue has rapidly grown to £40m – over 90% of which is recurring. It has over 25,000 cloud-based users, 34,000 mobile connections and 4,000 CCaaS supported agents.