A Bournemouth-based provider of business telephone systems to UK small and medium-sized enterprises has hit the acquisition trail again.

4Com has purchased the business telecoms customer base of Bluebell Cloud Solutions Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition is 4Com’s third in the past nine months.

Last year it bought both Midlands-based Midshire Business Systems (Communications) Ltd, known as Midshire Telecom, and Norwich-based Eastern Telephones Limited, known as Eastern Voice and Data.

But unlike the previous acquisitions, which saw 4Com purchase entire companies, the Bluebell Cloud Solutions deal is acquiring the business telecoms customer base only.

The company itself is continuing to trade.

Approximately 300 customers have  been acquired from Bluebell Cloud Solutions bringing the total number of customers now handled by 4Com to around 13,000.

Gary Scutt, pictured left, 4Com’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “When Bluebell Cloud Solutions reached out to us, we were naturally keen to explore their proposal of acquiring their business telecoms customers to support our ongoing growth strategy.

“As this was our first acquisition where we’ve bought a customer base, rather than an entire company, it was a new experience for us, and one which we’ve once again learned a lot from.

“We’re delighted to complete the deal with Bluebell and we look forward to building a strong relationship with our new customers.

“These are exciting times for all of us here at 4Com.

“Our core business continues to grow and we will also be pursuing further acquisition opportunities within the telecom industry to complement and further that growth.”

Ben Newbury, Director at Northampton-based Bluebell, said: “4Com were very clear from the outset how the process worked, were honest in their approach and pulled no last-minute tricks on price, as so commonly seen in the industry.

“At Bluebell we wanted funding to expand the business further, so we needed an injection of capital, that’s where 4Com came in and purchased a large part of our customer base.

“The process was finished within six weeks of our initial contact.”

Dean Cartledge, pictured right, 4Com’s Chief Operating Officer, said the company was pleased at how smoothly the acquisition process had gone.

He added: “I would like to thank the whole team at Bluebell for their help in making it possible to complete this deal.

“Acquisitions always require a lot of hard work and patience and Bluebell, along with our superb 4Com team, have worked tirelessly to create a smooth transfer of customers. ”

4Com, which was founded in 1999, employs 466 staff and had revenues of £107 million in the year to June 2022.

• 4com.co.uk