Logicalis saves 2e2's UK managed services arm

Logicalis has taken over the European business of defunct IT services supplier 2e2, which went bust in January 2013, owing millions to creditors.

Managed services company Logicalis has taken over 2e2’s Irish, Spanish and Channel Islands business for €24m (£20.7m). Separately, Logicalis has employed approximately 70 people from the defunct 2e2 UK operations.

Speaking to Computer Week’s sister title MicroScope, Ian Cook (pictured), CEO of Logicalis Group, said the 70 staff taken on board would be used to support some of 2e2’s existing large customers. “There were several large contracts our UK business took away, including one large managed services contract, and it made sense that there was no break in service for that customer,” he said.

Logicalis has been looking at 2e2 since the company ran into problems late last year. Mark Starkey, UK managing director of Logicalis, said the company was looking at certain parts of the 2e2  business that were complimentary. 

“2e2 customer  were struggling. We were looking at the bits we wanted,” said Starkey.

One of the significant factors for Logicalis was a 2e2 managed service with a customer both companies shared, which is believed to be Marks & Spencer. He added: “We moved quickly to move over 60 2e2 people through Tupe. We had to reassure the client and put in place a master service agreement.”

Starkey said he was personally involved in the migration of staff. Logicalis created a new sales team focused on the city and commercial business, using ex-2e2 staff.

Other large organisations using 2e2 in the UK included RBS, Vodafone, Kelloggs, the Sussex Partnership NHS Trust and the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Logicalis says the acquisition will bolster its European operations. “This transaction delivers on our stated intentions to grow our European presence and augment our solutions and services capabilities. In particular, the Spanish business is strategically important to us to strengthen relationships with our multinational clients in Latin America,” Cook added.

Along with the UK business, the acquisition will enable Logicalis to build a communications and collaboration, datacentre, managed services and cloud services in Europe.

As Computer Weekly has previously reported, Daisy Group acquired 2e2’s datacentre business .

The failure of 2e2 is a cautionary take for IT decision makers, especially given the growth of new cloud services. 

Cloud Industry Forum  chairman Andy Burton told Computer Weekly:  “As a matter of principle, cloud users should always plan rationally upfront and seek contractual clarity and reassurance from CSPs in order to understand how the service would be delivered, who is accountable and liable for which aspects of service continuity, and ultimately what is the process and timescale to disengage and move data in a planned or forced termination.”