A cloud hosting, disaster recovery and cyber resilience technology company is ramping up its growth plans following its acquisition by private equity firm MonacoSol.
Award-winning virtualDCS, which is based in Leeds, is the latest addition to tech and software-focused MonacoSol’s portfolio.
Manchester-headquartered MonacoSol has taken a majority stake in virtualDCS for an undisclosed sum.
The co-founders of virtualDCS – Richard May, John Murray and Dan Nichols – will remain with the business for the next phase of its journey.
Following the deal, virtualDCS has moved its headquarters from The Waterscape in Kirkstall to larger offices at Wellington Place, a modern development in Leeds city centre.
The new base will enable virtualDCS to accommodate a growing team in line with its expansion strategy.
It currently has 22 staff, including developers, system analysts, network engineers and cyber security specialists, and expects its workforce to grow by around a dozen over the next 12 months backed by MonacoSol’s investment, with recruitment plans focused on expanding its commercial and technical teams.
The business, which was founded in 2008 and turns over £2.8m, works directly with customers as well as through a variety of channel partners, including Phoenix Software, CCS Media and Vapour Cloud, that deliver its cloud services to their own client base.
Customers of virtualDCS span sectors ranging from retailing, local government, hospitality, food wholesaling, healthcare, IT support and fuel supplies to research outfits and professional bodies. Clients include B&M Retail, The Rix Group and its diverse portfolio of businesses, and Achilles, a supply chain risk management software provider.
The company delivers a range of cloud services, including a host of innovative and purpose-built Software as a Service (SaaS) products which enable companies to protect their data and enhance their cyber resilience and security.
In 2023, virtualDCS became Europe’s first partner winner of a Veeam® Innovation Award and triumphed again last year. Veeam Software is the #1 leader by market share in Data Resilience.
The awards recognised virtualDCS’s innovative approach to Microsoft Entra ID protection, leveraging Veeam technology with its CloudCover Guardian for Azure solution which protects over 200 configurations within a Microsoft 365 tenancy.
Richard May said:
“This acquisition is a key moment in virtualDCS’s journey. By joining forces with MonacoSol, we’re gaining the resources and expertise needed to accelerate our growth and enhance what we offer to our customers.
“It’s very much business as usual for our clients and, with the added firepower of MonacoSol, we’re in an even stronger position to innovate, expand our capabilities and deliver exceptional solutions.
“I’m confident this partnership will drive the business to new heights while continuing to provide the level of service to which our customers are accustomed.”
MonacoSol is the family office of technology and software entrepreneur Richard Beaton, who is its chairman. His sons Ollie and Eddie are its chief executive and chief financial officer respectively.
In October, MonacoSol announced a war chest of £40m to power its acquisition strategy.
It takes majority stakes in B2B software and technology businesses and provides them with capital to help them grow.
The other companies in MonacoSol’s portfolio are Open ECX, an AP automation software provider, recruitment vendor management platform Hiring Hub and graduate sales and training recruitment provider Furza, which are all based in the north.
Ollie said:
“We are extremely excited by the acquisition of virtualDCS. It’s an innovative cloud business with a knowledgeable team and a loyal customer base, and we are thrilled to be involved.
“Alongside the financial investment, the MonacoSol team has a great deal of experience in the cloud technology industry to help support the virtualDCS team to accelerate the next phase of growth for the company.”
MonacoSol was advised on the acquisition by Rebecca Grisewood at law firm Gateley, Colin Smyth and Jake Hodgson at RSM UK and David Taylor at Harts Chartered Accountants.
Cathy Cook and Brad Stewart at Yorkshire firm LCF Law provided legal advice to virtualDCS on the transaction.
https://monacosol.com/
https://www.virtualdcs.co.uk/