Bechtle acquires UK’s Qolcom

• IT company expands footprint in British market
• Bechtle UK continues growth trajectory
• Third acquisition in the UK in three years

Neckarsulm, 7 October 2024 – Continuing its international acquisitions strategy, Bechtle AG has boosted its presence in the United Kingdom with the purchase of systems integrator, Qolcom Limited. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Newbury, the IT specialist links Bechtle’s existing southern locations in London and Chippenham. Specialising in digital workplace solutions, intelligent network infrastructure and security, Qolcom currently employs 44 employees and achieved revenues of 30 million euros in the last fiscal year. The sale to Bechtle underscores Qolcom’s aspiration to drive company growth under the umbrella of a large international group while securing the succession of some of its leadership team with Keith Reading, remaining with the company as General Manager. Qolcom is a well-known name with an excellent reputation in the British IT services market. As is the case with all Bechtle’s acquisitions, the brand shall therefore remain unchanged initially. For Bechtle, the addition of Qolcom to the group provides increased market share, a new team of highly certified professional experts, and the ability to synergise and mesh portfolios to spur additional growth, particularly in terms of expanding further into the Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) space.

Following the acquisitions of IT service provider, ACS Systems, in November 2022 and value-added reseller, Tangible Benefit in March 2023, Bechtle continues to increase its share in the UK’s B2B market with the purchase of Qolcom. For Qolcom’s own customers, access to the Bechtle Group’s national and international capabilities will bring a wealth of new opportunities. Including its UK sites in Manchester, Northampton, London and Chippenham, Bechtle has a presence in 14 European countries and a network of partners extending to every continent.

Growth potential and development perspectives

“We have been very successful in expanding our footprint in the British market over the past three years, and our open and inclusive culture certainly has played no small part in that. Qolcom is a perfect match for us—both in terms of its people and its portfolio—and we are looking forward to writing the next chapter in our success story together,” says Konstantin Ebert, COO, Bechtle AG. 

“We are delighted to be bundling our expertise with Bechtle’s extensive portfolio. This marks an important milestone in our company’s growth and our customers will benefit very much from Bechtle’s holistic eco-system, especially on the international stage. We are looking forward to our future together, which will offer exciting development opportunities for our employees as well,” says Keith Reading, Managing Director, Qolcom.

As with the previous acquisitions, James Napp, Managing Director of Bechtle UK will oversee Qolcom’s integration into the group: “The Qolcom team’s knowledge, expertise and strong customer and vendor relationships will add significant strength to Bechtle UK’s position in the mid-market, enterprise and public sector networking and security space. We are excited to start collaborating and view this as another big step towards becoming one of the top 10 IT solutions providers in the United Kingdom.”

Established player on the market

Bechtle has been successfully established on the UK market for over 26 years and provides companies and public sector customers with a comprehensive portfolio of hardware, software, solutions and services. With Qolcom, Bechtle employs some 370 staff across five sites in the country. Consolidated revenues total around 290 million euros. The purchase price and conditions remain confidential, as usual.