CAE bosses push forward MBO

Channel player CAE Technology Services has undergone an MBO with the CEO and COO spearheading the move to take the business under fresh ownership.

Justin Harling and Richard Behan. CEO and COO of CAE Technology respectively, have set up Caerus Assets Limited, a holding company that has acquired the business.

The deal has been funded with the existing bank relationship and there was no need to turn to any other external sources of finance.

The timing of the MBO comes after a decent 2018, with the firm breaking through the £100m turnover barrier and after a period when the firm has been able to consolidate its position as a major Cisco Gold partner. The reseller was named the vendor's Commercial Partner of the year for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia in 2017.

The firm has also been looking to increase its sales beyond the UK and was one of those listed on the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 thanks to the 59% increase per year in overseas business over the last couple of years.

“Richard and I passionately believe that CAE has the potential to be one of the most influential suppliers of IT Infrastructure solutions. We are confident that this acquisition will put CAE in the best possible position to move forward with purpose, pace and agility and allow the company to enjoy a continued period of growth for the long term," said Harling.

“We are both genuinely excited to have completed this acquisition and now have enormous desire to see what can be achieved with the amazing teams that exist throughout the business," he added.

Harling and Behan take on a business that has been running for more than a decade selling into both enterprise and public sector customer bases. with seven offices across the UK, with the HQ in Watford plus operations in Oxford, London, Daresbury, Bracknell, Brighton and Glasgow.