How Direct Voice and Data in Huddersfield acquired Leeds-based Logical Telecom

Huddersfield-based Direct Voice and Data acquired its competitor Logical Telecom in 2018. However, it took 18 months for the firm to integrate the Leeds-based business.

Dave Henderson, CEO of Direct Voice and Data, said the reason it took so long to integrate Logical was because he had some things going on in his personal life and there was also an issue in the business that he had acquired that needed to be dealt with.

He added: “Primarily, we had two strong brands – Logical and Direct Voice and Data. My goal and my challenge early on was to start to merge departments and resources internally.”

In order to foster a positive work environment, Mr Henderson took his senior management away after the acquisition was completed in 2018. They were tasked with ensuring the merger was successful and that all staff members bought into it.

It resulted in the launch of the Project Proud initiative. The initiative ensures the business makes strategic decisions in a transparent way.

“We’ve decided to do everything openly,” Mr Henderson said. “It’s on the wall, people can see it, we’re not hiding anything from them.”

As of April 1, both businesses have adopted the Direct Voice and Data branding.

The acquisition has seen headcount grow at the Huddersfield-based firm. Initially Direct Voice and Data had around 18 staff.

This figure doubled once Logical was acquired and now stands at 47 with further additions to the team.

Mr Henderson said an acquisition has been in the offing ever since he took over the business in 2005.

Initially, the recession of 2008 led to growth plans being put to one side. Mr Henderson then enrolled on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme.

“That process really concreted and certainly helped in terms of how you go about an acquisition and things to watch out for, pitfalls etc,” Mr Henderson said.

After graduating from that programme in 2014, Mr Henderson launched a search for acquisition targets but the search proved fruitless until 2017 when he came across Logical.

Mr Henderson said it was like looking in a mirror when he spotted the Leeds-based business and saw a lot of cultural similarities.

“Obviously when you acquire a company, the first concern of staff is whether their job is safe or not,” he said. “I said to all of them that all their jobs are safe and everyone’s job has been safe. We’ve added some more roles to that.”

The CEO of Direct Voice and Data hopes to complete further acquisitions in the future as he hopes to continue to grow the Huddersfield-based business.

The next big challenge for the business is going to be customer confidence and the economy.

The coronavirus outbreak has led to the Direct Voice and Data being very busy as it provides products and technology that enables remote working.

But if businesses continue to be impacted by the pandemic then that is likely to impact work in the future. Direct Voice and Data says recurring revenue is its “strong backbone” but there has been a reduction in demand for new projects.

Early buyout that started it all

Direct Voice and Data was established in 1984 by Jill Wynne and Dave Henderson started working for it in 2003.

In 2005, Mr Henderson completed a management buyout as Ms Wynne wanted to move to Spain.

Mr Henderson said: “I completed buying the business in 2005 a month after my 21st birthday. I was fairly naive to it all then. I spent the first few years getting our heads around what was what, how it fitted together, where the potential was.”

Following the integration of Logical, Mr Henderson said that the business plans to grow through further acquisitions in the future. The business will continue to operate from offices in Huddersfield and Leeds.