Redcentric adds more cloud muscle with Piksel buy

This time last year, Redcentric was walking away from potential sale discussions but 12 months later, it has turned acquirer and picked up Piksel Industry Solutions.

Piksel is an AWS and Microsoft Azure specialist that provides support for those looking for help with public cloud environments and managed services.

The deal will add more depth to Redcentric’s newly created Cloud Services Division and will give its customers immediate access to Piksel’s skills and knowledge.

“This is a great acquisition for Redcentric and combines the secure, asset-light, digital transformation capabilities of Piksel with the managed infrastructure, unified collaboration and network solutions of Redcentric,” said Peter Brotherton, CEO of Redcentric.

“The combined portfolio will accelerate the group’s ability to deliver industry-leading, transformative solutions to our customers and expands our capabilities in hyperscale public cloud and security.”

The channel player made it clear back in July, with the release of its preliminary numbers for the year ended 31 March, that it was looking at acquisition as a way of bolstering growth on the back of a decent financial performance.

The firm saw its revenues climb by 4% to £91.4m and operating profits were transformed from an £8.7m loss in the last fiscal year to a £13m profit.

Those numbers reversed a period that had seen Redcentric considering a sale last September as it looked to get the best return for shareholders. At the time, the board said it believed there was momentum building in the business and it would fare well under its own steam.

Speaking at the time of the FY numbers in July, Brotherton said: “With such a strong balance sheet, we are ideally placed to supplement our organic growth strategy with targeted acquisitions for both scale and capability. The next phase of our journey is to capitalise on our scale, financial strength and customer proposition to enable us to take part in the inevitable industry consolidation.”

In response, Paul Mardling, managing director at Piksel Industry Solutions, said that becoming part of the Redcentric family would give the firm more reach.

“The combined expertise of Redcentric and Piksel Industry Solutions will bring benefits to both our customers and people,” he said. “We are now part of a larger group and that will help us capitalise on the growing and substantial market for advanced cloud services, networks and cyber security.”