Geoff Barratt has been a director of Fabric IT for over twenty years. The Macclesfield-based IT support company are a managed service provider, with over 120 clients and provide Microsoft end to end solutions from connectivity phones through to cloud services and dynamics.
Fabric IT was recently acquired by a larger firm, Cardiff-based Circle IT. Both firms provide the same services nationwide, and Fabric IT will retain its own identity as part of the acquisition.
Geoff said: “We’d had a lot of approaches from companies within our sector, who wanted to acquire and absorb Fabric, but this wasn’t something the directors felt comfortable with or wanted to do. The proposal put forward by Circle IT was more collaborative and had more of a partnership feel. They wanted to work together to grow the businesses rather than just subsume us.
“We’re able keep our identity and our products and will keep our autonomy, but we have the advantage of a larger parent company that we can dip into for expertise.”
Geoff was introduced to CG Professional by Sedulo, the agency that managed the sale.
Geoff said of CG: “They were just excellent from end to end. We were introduced to Benjamin who led up the legal side of the sale, with assistance from Lucy.
“It’s incredibly stressful selling a business - you've got to keep your business running during the sale process and one of the things that CG did was take some of the pressure off.
“We had confidence and knew the legal side was being handled, so we didn't have to worry about that. I could get on with continuing to run the business and providing Circle IT with all the due diligence and information required.”
Although there wasn’t a set time frame for the acquisition to be completed, CG Professional worked quickly and efficiently to ensure the sale process was completed within a good time.
Geoff added: “Ben and the team at CG were extremely proactive. They were willing to go above and beyond and work into the night without being asked. We were impressed by their flexibility and willingness to get the sale done for us, regardless of losing personal time.
“I would now rank the CG Professional team as trusted advisors. Throughout the whole process, we felt our best interests were their focus and all advice was succinctly and clearly delivered.
“Time is money and having someone absorb the information for you and tell you what is or isn't important or needs your attention is key."
“I really have no hesitation in recommending CG to anybody.”