Bringing enterprise level services to the mid-market has been the bedrock of what Fifosys has done for the last 13 years, and has seen it named as one of the GrowthBusiness 2014 Tech Innovators.
After turning to debt for acquisition finance, the company is now actively looking for equity investment to fund new transactions.
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Based in: London Founded in: 2001 No. of employees: 50 Company founder: Mitesh Patel |
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Founder profile:
Mitesh Patel founded Fifosys in 2001 whilst at university completing a masters degree in computing. In 2010 he completed the Cranfield University Business Growth Programme for entrepreneurs. Patel leads the Fifosys business strategy and experienced management team dedicated to driving the company forward.
Background business profile:
Fifosys is an established, rapidly expanding, IT support and outsourcing company, focusing on cloud services. It is cash positive and expects to double in size organically in the next five years.
Inside track:
Fifosys is akin to many of the businesses it calls clients, it’s a fast-growth SME that has access to a range of tools that those from previous generations could only dream of. Getting the support and advice to make the most out of those is a different situation altogether.
Opening up enterprise level solutions to mid-market and growing companies, and providing a business-centric approach to IT, has seen Fifosys grow to a team of 50 led by Mitesh Patel.
The last 18 months has seen the team make a very conscious decision to focus on the mid-market, moving away from the S in SME and towards the M.
‘Overall, people want a partnership with a technology company, they don’t want to try and deliver it internally as they’ll never have the depth and breath in a changing market,’ Patel explains.
‘I use the analogy of lawyers and accountants – theirs is a sector that is never going anywhere, they will always be needed for their expertise. In the same way I put our sector in the same place, from a technology perspective you always need experts as well.’
Not content with growing through organic means, Fifosys has gone out and got acquisitive – something it intends to repeat in the near future. Equity funding is now being sought to finance acquisitions at a rate that Patel says banks would not be able to move at.
The business will be focusing on three key sectors: property, education and retail – with Patel set on taking a sizeable percentage of each space.
Recent milestones:
- Revenue exceeded £4.5 million with EBITDA approaching £500,000 in year to March 2014
- First acquisition – Octavia Information Systems – in January 2011 for £750,000, gaining a customer base to convert to cloud based services
- Second ‘point’ acquisition – Black Mobile Solutions – in December 2013, gaining crucial mobile and web application development capability
- Appointed a sales director to continue organic business development in June 2013
Upcoming milestones:
- Revenue forecast to exceed £7 million in year to March 2015, largely based on orders received and annual recurring revenue
- EBITDA to exceed £600,000 for year to March 2015
- Seeking equity funding to make a larger acquisition
Recent technology:
Fifosys has invested heavily in its IBM based cloud infrastructure and in the technical skills (the learning curve) of how to sell and support cloud based IT support services and make a profit.
Products:
- IT managed services comprising cloud hosting, back up, security and desktop support
- Business consultancy and IT implementation consultancy
- Web and mobile application development
Alliances:
- IBM
- HP
- Cisco
- Microsoft
- Others
Investors:
The founder has grown the business from initial investment and retained profits. The Octavia acquisition was financed by a 10-year term loan from Habib Bank
Contact details:
7 Hampstead West, 224 Iverson Rd, West Hampstead, London NW6 2HL
Tel: 0207 6442610
Email: m.patel@fifosys.com
Website: www.fifosys.com
