HSO eyes rapid growth
Article Date: Apr 17 2006
Under the stewardship of managing director Chris Evans, HSO has rapidly blossomed into an established IT and telecoms services business generating annual sales in excess of £6 million and backed by the likes of Canary Wharf, Legal & General and Prudential.
To Evans, this success owes much to the way in which his company has sought to address its chosen market.
HSO provides a range of hi-tech services to mid-sized customers, ranging from the provision of voice calls and network solutions through to email archiving and security, emphasising its managed services model on route. ‘This is about partner-ships,’ Evans notes, ‘making things much more flexible than they are with traditional outsourcing.’ So firms with small specialist IT teams can work alongside the company to discuss their IT needs as they grow and, while an outsourcing firm will simply implement what it sees as the best solution, HSO will develop more of a bespoke solution for its clients.
As a model, this appears to be working well. In August the group reached breakeven at the EBITDA level and to Evans this in itself opens up a wealth of new opportunities. ‘We’ve driven ourselves to profitability for several reasons,’ he explains. ‘Firstly, it proves something to our investors. But it also helps the business grow inorganically.
Hopefully we’re going to conclude a small acquisition soon and we’re also lining up a possible merger.’
As for the future, Evans adds that ‘part of our strategy is to exit. But, as a £6 million turnover company, floating on AIM wouldn’t be the best idea and there probably wouldn’t be much liquidity in our shares. For a £15 million turnover company it becomes a very different story and hopefully we’ll be able to either float or complete a trade sale in around two years’ time. Reaching profitability has really enabled us to take things to the next level.’
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