The acquisition by Enreach strengthens its position in the UK IT and telecommunications market. Founded by Paul Maxfield in 1997, Network Telecom provides business telephony, hosted voice, lines & calls, connectivity, mobile and IT services to approximately 2,400 small businesses across the UK.
Long term relationship
Knight have been working with Network Telecom for a number of years in an on-going advisory role to the founder. When Knight were approached by Enreach, who were looking for a platform UK acquisition, it was able to discuss the opportunity with Paul knowing that should he be interested, the business was well placed to go through a transaction process.
What was particularly attractive to the founder was the fact that Enreach were looking for a UK platform to build on, and so it was a very positive opportunity for the Network Telecom staff.
Prepared
The team at Knight had undertaken a Vendor Assist process with the business earlier this year, and so it was fully prepared for a process, even though one was not planned. Once a deal had been agreed with Enreach the process completed quickly.
Paul Maxfield said: "I have worked with Paul Billingham at Knight for a number of years and his advice has been invaluable. Whilst I was not expecting to sell the company at this stage, the opportunity from Enreach was too good to turn down. The Knight team ensured that we got the right deal for everyone at Network Telecom and the transaction could be completed efficiently with the minimum of disruption to the business”.
Paul Billingham commented “It has been fantastic working with Paul and the team at Network Telecom, who despite being relatively low profile in the industry, is one of the great success stories in the sector. It is satisfying to see the hard work over many years rewarded and we look forward to seeing the business develop further as part of the Enreach Group".
Paul Billingham was supported on the transaction by the Tom Jones, Dom Lillie and Nick Townley-Wells.