Vapour Cloud targets takeovers
Vapour Cloud is aiming to become a £12m business by 2020 – on the basis of organic growth alone. The goal is to accelerate Vapour’s expansion with these key acquisitions.
Said Tim: “We mark our fifth year in business this July, so as we look ahead to what the board is trying to achieve going forward, a buy and build strategy is a natural progression for the organisation.
“We’ve established a 96% net recurring revenue rate to date, so our business development model is easy to maintain. We had a 64% seed of growth in 2017 and hope to realise 65-80% by the end of this year.
He said: “There are a number of well-established operators in this sector – dozens of which started out as lifestyle businesses – but many are not cloud-first.
“Of course, some are rising to the challenge and quickly adapting their offering to satisfy clients’ modern business needs.
“But cloud is an entirely different world. We therefore hope that by acquiring two – or more – of these such companies, we can successfully build on the legacy the current owners will leave behind, whilst supplying their customers with the next generation products and services they’re looking for.”
Asked about the focus on northern businesses, Tim said: “We are, of course, considering investments irrespective of geography.
“But the vibrancy of activity in the north is undeniable and the synergies associated with augmenting our already reputable skill-set in the region will be vast.
“We’re passionate about flexible working too, so the more engineers, technical experts and customer service advisors we have in the north, the easier it will be to develop a larger, more diverse and engaged workforce.”
Vapour Cloud currently has a 32-strong team. The business has attracted £4m of private equity investment to date. March. They were denied because the number applying exceeded the monthly limit allowed to enter the UK.
But critics argue that this kind of policy doesn’t help the government, employers or the public.
If we are to further develop our high tech economy then it is vital that the government finds a balance between allowing skilled overseas workers into the UK and also ensuring that the British public are given a fair opportunity to apply and fill the roles.