Charles Russell Speechlys advises Acora on the acquisition of M9 Holdings

Charles Russell Speechlys has advised existing client Acora on its acquisition of M9 Holdings. Acora is an award-winning UK-based IT services and technology company working with over 350 clients to deliver managed IT support, Microsoft-centric business software and cloud solutions.

The acquisition of M9 Holdings marks the latest stage in Acora’s growth journey and brings the company to more than 500 employees at locations in West Sussex, London, Birmingham, Bath and Milton Keynes.

M9 Holdings is a managed service provider, specialising in delivering IT support and communications services to support their clients. Founded in 1990, M9 has also established an international presence with the help of an offshore team in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This is the third bolt-on acquisition on which the Charles Russell Speechlys team has advised Acora, following Acora’s acquisition of Veber Ltd in December 2020 and Westgate IT in September 2021. The Charles Russell Speechlys team also advised Acora on its investment round with Palatine Private Equity LLP in April 2020.

David Hemmings Chief Acquisition Officer at Acora commented: "We have been tracking and talking to M9 for a number of years and are delighted that the right time has come to bring the business into Acora. This is our third acquisition in the last 12 months and the advice we get from Mark and his team is incredibly valuable; they know the IT sector, are commercially astute and technically very strong. We look forward to working with them on the future deals we have planned for 2022."

Mark Howard, Corporate Partner and co-head of Charles Russell Speechlys' Technology, Media and Telecommunications team, commented: “We are delighted to have worked again with David and the Acora team to grow their business with this third acquisition. Our team offers great expertise in the IT services and software sectors and we look forward to working with Acora on future matters.”

The team was led by Corporate Partner Mark Howard supported by Corporate Associates Alex Stevens and James Scott. The team also included Employment Senior Associate Becky Lawton and Associate Jack Vaughan, Tax Partner Rob Birchall and Associate Tessa Newman.