Bournemouth's 4Com expands with third acquisition in nine months

A Bournemouth-based provider of business telephone systems to UK small and medium-sized enterprises has hit the acquisition trail again.

4Com has purchased the business telecoms customer base of Bluebell Cloud Solutions Ltd for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is 4Com’s third in the past nine months. Last year it bought both Midlands-based Midshire Business Systems (Communications) Ltd, known as Midshire Telecom, and Norwich-based Eastern Telephones Limited, known as Eastern Voice and Data.

But unlike the previous acquisitions, which saw 4Com purchase entire companies, the Bluebell Cloud Solutions deal is acquiring the business telecoms customer base only.

The company itself is continuing to trade. Approximately 300 customers have been acquired from Bluebell Cloud Solutions bringing the total number of customers now handled by 4Com to around 13,000.

Gary Scutt, 4Com’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “When Bluebell Cloud Solutions reached out to us, we were naturally keen to explore their proposal of acquiring their business telecoms customers to support our ongoing growth strategy."

“As this was our first acquisition where we’ve bought a customer base, rather than an entire company, it was a new experience for us, and one which we’ve once again learned a lot from."

“We’re delighted to complete the deal with Bluebell and we look forward to building a strong relationship with our new customers."

“These are exciting times for all of us here at 4Com."

READ MORE: Bournemouth’s 4Com completes second acquisition in six months