Swindon-based Excalibur Communications is under new ownership following a MBO led by CEO Peter Boucher (pictured) supported with funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial. Former owner and CEO James Phipps retains a minority shareholding as Executive Chairman. The management team aims take full ownership of the business within five years and is seeking to increase investments and acquisitions in new technology.
Excalibur provides managed IT and telecoms services to more than 4,000 SMEs in the south and south west and is one of Vodafone's top five distribution channel partners in the UK.
Boucher stated: "This backing by Santander is an endorsement of our ambition to scale up the business. We have achieved our targets for the first year through sustainable growth and productivity gains. The funding, alongside a team of motivated employees and strong senior management, places us in a strong position to build and grow Excalibur in the long-term."
Chris Mears, Relationship Director at Santander, added: "We have been impressed by the management team and their growth ambitions."
The MBO builds on Excalibur's acquisition of Ntegra IT Support Services in April last year, which strengthened its technical support team and added customers in the education and charitable sectors.