1. CTS
PE acquirer: Marlin Equity Partners (from NorthEdge)
Date: January 2023
Deal size: CTS generated fiscal 2022 revenues of £66m
Rationale
Having grown swiftly under previous private equity backer NorthEdge, this Google partner was ready to step things up a notch when it welcomed in Marlin as its new majority owner in January.
Nine months later, CTS merged with similar-sized peer Appsbroker to create a 400-employee outfit purporting to be the “largest Google Cloud-only digital consultancy in Europe”.
In a blog post at the time of that deal in October, outgoing Managing Director Chris Bunch said he would be “surprised if this is the last deal the company does”.
What they said
“With the merger comes a host of people with new skills and capabilities, and an enlarged leadership team that no longer needs me to steer and direct, so I’m stepping back. This creates the Google specialist in Europe, and it’s something I’m super proud to have been part of making happen. I’d be surprised if this is the last deal the company does, so keep your eyes open for further growth,” Chris Bunch, former MD at CTS
