8. boxxe eyes £1bn with CAE buy
When? July
In a 2025 characterised by depressed M&A levels, one all-UK deal stands out.
Proving that the “race to £1bn” among a group of mid-sized VARs and MSPs is still very much on, boxxe in July moved to acquire £160m-revenue Cisco, Microsoft and Dell partner CAE.
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen, boxxe CEO Phil Doye said the deal will propel the York-based outfit’s runrate revenues to “broadly” £650m, taking it one step closer to its £1bn goal.
“I’m still strongly of the belief that in order for us to be relevant we have to scale,” Doye said.
“Whilst the £1bn is an arbitrary number, if you get there you’ve effectively demonstrated you have enough scale to be able to compete with the large competitors.”
Earlier this month, Advania UK revealed its revenues now stand at £452m following its integration of 2024 acquisitions CCS Media and Servium, with XMA, Wavenet and Bechtle among the other mid-sized players building larger businesses via M&A.
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