APSU Set for International Expansion with $11.2m Investment
Gloucestershire, UK (PRWEB UK) 24 October 2014 -- Bristol, 22nd October 2014 – APSU TWP Limited (‘APSU'), a provider of IT managed services and an IBM Premier Business Partner, today announced that it has secured a £7m ($11.2m) investment from BGF (Business Growth Fund), the independent company established to help Britain’s growing businesses.
APSU has a specialism in IBM’s Power i range of servers (formerly known as the iSeries and AS/400). Power i (IBM Power Systems running IBM i) is the world’s best-selling mid-range computer system. As an IBM Premier Partner, APSU is IBM’s highest accredited Business Partner in Europe and is the only UK member of IBM’s Global Business Partner Advisory Council. APSU also provides solutions through Cisco, Microsoft, HP and VMware.
The company was formed in 2011 by CEO Steve Morris from the merger of AssurIT with Apex Computers International Limited and is forecasting turnover of £25m next year. It is headquartered in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and also operates its own data centres. In 2013, APSU was recognised as the fastest growing IT company (Sunday Times Tech Track 100) in the south-west of England and ranked number 20 overall in the UK. Steve has over 25 years’ experience in the IT industry. He founded Catalyst Solutions plc in 1994, growing it to over 500 employees and turnover in excess of $100m, and was subsequently CEO of IFTE Limited, taking it from a small UK business to a world leader in its field before floating on AIM.
BGF’s investment will enable APSU to recruit technical personnel in the UK to support overseas customers and build a bigger sales and operational capability to address North America and other overseas markets. Overseas expansion is being driven by existing customer demand. APSU will now be considering selective acquisitions to enhance its service offering, both in the UK and internationally.
Mike Tait joins the APSU board as non-executive Chairman, along with Simon Parkins, who joins APSU as Global Sales Director. Mike is an international chairman with a strong corporate background. He was Vice President & General Manager, Europe-Africa, for Unisys Corporation, the world’s second largest computer company, and has chaired boards of many equity-backed businesses. Simon has had a highly successful career in the IT industry and has held senior directorship appointments in companies such as Misys, IBM and Oracle, where he grew both existing business lines and also established new markets in regions such as Continental Europe, the CIS, North America and Asia.
The investment was managed for BGF by Ned Dorbin, Paul Brindley and Edwin Davies. BGF was introduced to APSU by Lloyds Banking Group in Gloucester.
Ned Dorbin, BGF Investment Director, commented:
‘We are delighted to be investing in APSU. It is a company led by an experienced management team, at the head of which is Steve Morris, who has a very successful track record of growing businesses in this sector. This is a fantastic opportunity to invest in a highly accredited business that is well placed to grow by capitalising on an increasing trend to outsource IT services. There is also the potential for considerable overseas growth driven by its strong relationships with IBM and other blue chip vendors, its expertise in Power i and its managed services offering.’
Steve Morris, CEO of APSU, commented:
‘APSU has enjoyed significant growth over the last three years, primarily due to our expertise in Power i and the development and deployment of our unique, cloud-based, managed IT services to companies across all industry sectors.
The investment by BGF will provide the platform to build upon our exceptional growth as APSU develops and expands our unique feature-rich, cloud-based offerings for the UK, Europe and worldwide markets.
APSU has an exciting and profitable future ahead and I very much look forward to working with BGF, as well as continuing to work with our customers and partners, both in the UK and internationally, to ensure that we exceed market expectations for both innovation and quality of services.’
Gerry Burke, APSU, http://www.apsu.com, +44 2476 560066, [email protected]
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