Daisy in the frame to pick up TalkTalk Direct B2B business

TalkTalk telecom group has opted to sell its Direct B2B business to Daisy group for £175m leaving it with a chance to concentrate on building its partner and wholesale business.

The two firms already work together so it means that there would be minimal disruption to  existing customers, who would still find themselves using the same TalkTalk network.

The deal would hand Daisy 80,000 customers, from SME through to enterprise, and a chunk of business that represented not far off 20% of TalkTalk's B2B revenues.

If it all gets the green light then it should be completed by the end of July and Daisy has been given a period of exclusivity to seal the deal.

TalkTalk would continue to develop its own channel base, which currently stands at around 800 relationships, providing broadband and ethernet services. The firm has been growing its partner base with it now contributing over 90% of the telco’s B2B customers and over 80% of its revenue, with two-year CAGR of 11%. 

“Last year we set out a strategy to radically simplify the business, focusing on fewer priorities that offer the best growth potential. TalkTalk has real strength in the Partner and Wholesale markets, where we have scale and a clear leadership position. It represents the vast majority of our revenue and profit and we see real opportunity to continue growing at pace," said TalkTalk chief executive, Tristia Harrison.

"This proposed deal would allow us to focus on growth in those core B2B markets, whilst also removing significant complexity and cost from the business. As an existing strategic partner, Daisy is well placed to serve all direct customers, who would remain on our network and provide ongoing revenue," she added.

Daisy did not comment directly on the deal but was banging the drum yesterday over its ability to provide more of the UK with access to ultra fibre with fast broadband at speeds of up to 300 Mbps.