FluidOne appoints Roy Hastings as CFO to support healthy M&A pipeline
13 · Apr ·2021
In the lead up to a recent series of successful acquisitions and investments, market leading network aggregator, FluidOne, announced the appointment of Roy Hastings who joins the Board as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), reporting to Russell Horton CEO. The company has entered its next stage of growth, starting with the acquisition of PSU in October 2020 to add IT Managed Services and Unified Communications to its growing portfolio; as well as the recent strategic investment in Cyber Security Associates Ltd to bring in Advanced Security, building on its market leading connectivity services, delivered via its national fibre network Platform One.
Having been working with the FluidOne team since November, Roy is now fully integrated into the company. As a broadly experienced and commercially focused senior executive, Roy will be leading the finance organisation with the support of Group FD Hermant Patel who will be reporting to him. Boasting a proven track record in fast-moving, commercial CFO roles within private equity-funded businesses across a range of sectors, Roy will also be taking a leading role in the buy-and-build acquisition strategy alongside Russell Horton. A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, Roy’s earlier career roles include M&A Director at a FTSE 100 company and over 10 years within the corporate finance advisory arm of a ‘Big 4’ accountancy and advisory firm. During this time, Roy was involved in a wide range of corporate finance transactions, with valuations ranging from under £1m up to £5bn.
Commenting on the company’s latest recruit, Russell Horton, CEO, said
“We are very pleased to have been able to attract someone of Roy’s calibre and experience to join our Board. His background in M&A will strengthen and bolster the team on our next stage of growth, and help us to achieve our vision to become the best quality Connected Cloud Solutions provider to UK businesses. We look forward to utilising Roy’s experience to ensure we continue to grow our healthy M&A pipeline which will be key to the execution of our vision as we scale the business.”
Roy Hastings added:
“It is a very exciting time to join FluidOne as they define a new market offering with Connected Cloud Solutions and look to acquire new, high-quality businesses. I am delighted to be joining an exceptional team that’s driven by ambitious plans and seen as a disruptor within the market. My background in corporate transactions, both as a principal and advisor, has seen me involved in over 80 corporate deals to date, which will complement the existing management team’s skills and put me in a strong position to support Russell and the FluidOne board to deliver on our vision and growing acquisitions pipeline.”
With two acquisitions already under its belt, Roy’s pedigree in M&A will be critical to helping FluidOne achieve its ambitious plans to grow over the next five years. FluidOne’s vision is to become the best quality Connected Cloud Solutions provider to UK businesses. The current market is already steering towards operating in multi-cloud and multi-connected environments, and FluidOne is in a prime position to deliver the necessary services to UK businesses to support them during this crucial time. Roy’s experience of building high-performance finance and central support teams within acquisitive businesses will be a key success factor in FluidOne delivering its ambitious business plans.
About FluidOne
Established in 2006, FluidOne is an award-winning Connected Cloud Solutions provider with a £37m turnover that boasts the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) in the industry, securing 86 for January 2021. Underlying its services is FluidOne’s national fibre network, Platform One, which is the most connected network in the UK. FluidOne has a strong company culture enjoyed by 140 staff and was ranked as outstanding in the Sunday Times Best Companies to work for awards.
FluidOne supports the needs of 1,150 customers, including 200 channel resellers, with services covering connectivity, SD-WAN, cyber security, IT managed services, mobile, IoT UCaaS and CCaaS. It doesn’t just provide its customers with off the shelf solutions but consults with them to design solutions that complement their in-house IT structures. FluidOne takes complex hybrid multi-site environments and makes them simple and secure, so end-users can access their business application wherever they are.
Led by CEO Russell Horton, co-founder Chris Rogers (who started the business in 2006) and CFO Roy Hastings, the management team is backed by Livingbridge to support their ambitious 8-year strategy.