FluidOne acquires Surrey’s project five

By Sam Pither

27 April 2023

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(L-R) Steve Coburn and Russell Horton

Connected Cloud solutions provider FluidOne has announced the acquisition of project five, a Surrey-based IT managed services provider.

The acquisition of project five, which provides outsourced IT services to small and medium-sized businesses in Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire, is FluidOne’s fourth addition to its branch network, creating a £30 million revenue business unit.

Steve Coburn, founder of project five, will become consultant to the board, while Commercial Director Rob Reed-Roberts and Technical Director Brad Cordell will continue leading project five teams reporting to Steve Brown as Managing Director of the FluidOne Business IT Centre of Excellence, which has 930 customers, 134 employees and four branches led from recent acquisition Highlander’s Sheffield headquarters.

Post-acquisition, FluidOne’s CEO, Russell Horton, is to become Chairman of project five, with FluidOne Directors Brendan Lynch, Chris Rogers and Roy Hastings also becoming board directors.

Russell Horton, FluidOne CEO, said: “I am pleased to announce the acquisition of project five, that builds on our strategy to create a branch network for expertly delivered IT managed services to Business customers. When reviewing the business, I was impressed with the excellent service they deliver and the strength of relationships that the team build with their clients.

“This was reinforced by great customer feedback in our survey and a world class NPS of 80. They are a great fit to our strategy, and I look forward to working with Steve Coburn and the team to grow the Camberley business.”

Steve Coburn, project five Founder and Managing Director: “This is an exciting chapter in the project five journey; when we first started having discussions with Russell, it was clear that our companies shared a common culture and values and a commitment to delivering great service.

“The FluidOne portfolio will broaden the service offering to our existing customers and the acquisition offers fantastic career opportunities to the project five team.”

Steve Brown, Highlander Computing Solutions Ltd. Managing Director, added: “A fantastic addition to the group. Rob, Brad and the project five team will bring great expertise to the core of the Business IT CoE and as a group we are well placed to help them grow their base and further strengthen the proposition they can offer to their customers. We’re excited to be working with another quality and values driven business.”

By Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset.

A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise.

Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.