UK cloud computing and managed hosting company iomart expands its premium customer base

iomart Group plc (AIM:IOM), the UK managed hosting and cloud computing services company, today (November 24 2011) announced that it has bought Scottish infrastructure service provider EQSN.

iomart has acquired the entire issued share capital of EQSN for a total cash consideration of £2.475m with £2.25m payable at completion and a deferred consideration of up to £225k contingent on the successful integration of the operations of ESQN into the Group.

Based in Glasgow EQSN provides managed hosting solutions to a varied range of clients across all major sectors of industry including: banking & finance, manufacturing, social networking, local & central government, corporate, and the NHS. Its clients include a number of high profile names and quoted companies.

Angus MacSween, CEO of iomart Group plc, said: “We are delighted with this addition to the iomart Group as we continue to drive forward our reputation as a leading provider of secure web hosting and managed services for business. EQSN has an impressive customer base and is a strong strategic and cultural fit for us.”

Alan Lorimer, CEO of EQSN, said: “EQSN is a very successful company in its own right. Becoming part of iomart is a natural next step for us. It means that we can offer our customers even more value through an extended service portfolio and facilities because of iomart’s fully owned, managed and secure datacentre network and its commitment to providing customers with peace of mind.”

EQSN was founded in 2000 and has established a reputation for delivering secure datacentre based hosting solutions through the provision of hosting, bandwidth supply and managed IT services.

Angus MacSween continued: “The purchase of EQSN fits perfectly with our stated intention of looking for acquisitions that add depth and value. We are ambitious to keep growing organically and by acquisitions and will continue to look for similar opportunities moving forward.”

EQSN is the third acquisition in a year for iomart Group plc. It bought Liverpool domain name and hosting company Switch Media for £1.25m in April 2011 and technical hosting specialist Titan Internet for £4.2m in November 2010.

iomart Group plc is due to report its half yearly results for the six months to 30 September 2011 on November 29.

iomart Group plc is Scotland’s Digital IT Company of the Year 2011 and is ranked as one of the top 25 cloud services providers in the world (Talkin’ Cloud 50).