Bournemouth-based colocation provider 4CL (Connections4London) has been acquired by Castle Street Investments (CSI) for £20.2m in cash and shares. C4L described the deal as a true merger into CSI and, apart from a reorganisation at board level it will be business as usual.
CSI started up as an online dating agency but divested that business, Cupid, in 2014 to concentrate on being an investment company. This is the second acquisition it has made this year, following the purchase of Selection Services Investments, a supplier of IT solutions and cloud-related services, in January.
Matters of the heart
The repositioning of CSI paved the way for the C4L deal as a strategic move, and matched the hosting company’s dream of becoming the foremost infrastructure services provider in the UK, at least in the mid-market. C4L added that a more important factor was CSI’s ability to offer customers and partners security and confidence, as well as securing its own team’s future.
Matt Hawkins, founder and chairman of C4L, has now become CTO and former CEO Simon Mewett emerged as COO. They will be joined by CSI chief executive Andy Ross and its CFO Julian Phipps in the new management team.
Hawkins said, “The acquisition opens a whole new world for us, it really is all about the people. It gives us huge potential, financial security and doubles our customer base overnight. All the newly available products, training and resources we now have access to, will enable us to thrive even more. The future for C4L’s staff, clients and partners is now bigger and brighter than ever.”
The acquisition includes 45 staff based in C4L’s offices in Bournemouth and London Docklands. CSI said the company’s customer base of over 800 and estimated £14m turnover, annualised from the three months to January 31, will immediately enhance CSI’s earnings.
“C4L has a high quality, next generation infrastructure which has been well invested. Allied to a successful business with high levels of recurring revenue, it offers strong growth opportunities,” Ross said.