Just three years old, Redcentric is already on acquisition trail

Government contracts are becoming increasingly important to the group and Fisher is grateful that the current Government is supporting UK firms like Redcentric.

“The public sector business now accounts for around 17 per cent of our contracts and it is growing strongly because we have got such a supportive Government,” says Fisher.

“The Government used to go to big US companies, but more is going to UK companies that employ UK people and people in Yorkshire.

“We have 200 in our office and we expect growth in people in the business.”

Fisher believes Redcentric now has a healthy mix of private and public sector clients.

The firm recently announced the award of five new contracts worth over £1m which has boosted first half trading.

The group has set itself ambitious revenue targets to get to £300m to £500m in the next three to five years, a sizeable jump from last year’s £94m revenue.

“Yes I think we can hit those targets. We’ve got solid organic growth and acquisitions,” says Fisher.

“We know we can do it. The whole team are very good at dealing with acquisitions and integration. We’ve been through a lot. I’ve got a really good team.

“The business is looking good for the year end at the end of March. The pipeline is looking solid.”

Redcentric’s aim is to go for more £1m plus contracts.

“We are pulling in more seven figure contracts with customers,” says Fisher

“We are becoming a bigger, better known business. We are only three years old. We are landing up on tender lists - we are not having to chase business.

“We are a credible partner for UK medium sized businesses. The NHS is now a big client.”

Redcentric is helping the NHS to improve patient data security and helping to increase the speed that patient documents and referrals are created.

“Healthcare is a really important area for us,” says Fisher.

“It’s a good growth area and we have a specialised healthcare sales team in what is such a fragmented market place.”

Redcentric is based in Harrogate for a good reason.

“There are quite a few tech businesses based here. We certainly don’t find it hard to find talented technology people,” says Fisher.

In terms of acquisitions, he says the group will do as many as it can sensibly do.

“If we carry on at 10 per cent organic growth, a large chunk of future revenue will be acquisitions. They have got to be both big and small targets,” says Fisher.

When I ask how many millions the company could splash out on future acquisitions, Fisher says: “That’s not important. It doesn’t matter if it’s £2m or £200m. Any business we buy has to do what we do and be something we understand with a high level of recurring contract revenue. We can’t damage our finances. It doesn’t have to be profitable. Calyx wasn’t.”

Fisher says that the integration of Calyx Managed Services, which was bought in April, has progressed to plan and the financial benefits of the acquisition will be felt in full in the second half of the year.

More recently Redcentric bought City Lifeline at the end of last month for £4.8m, a deal which Fisher describes as a low risk move.

“City Lifeline owns and operates one of the best connected data centres in London, and has been trading for over 20 years,” says Fisher.

In the year to December 31, City Lifeline generated revenue of £3.5m (all recurring) and earnings of £600,000.

The group said the acquisition provides a well-established London data centre to complement its existing infrastructure of owned data centres in Harrogate, Reading and Cambridge.

When I ask how life has changed since Fisher stepped up to the CEO role, he says: “It hasn’t. The deal was always that it was my business to run.

“I didn’t have public company experience at the time so Tony (Weaver) took the CEO title, but we worked in close partnership”

Prior to taking on the CEO role three months ago, Fisher was chief operating officer. He succeeded Tony Weaver, who has remained on the board as a non-executive director.

Many Southern born CEOs get quite a bit of stick when they end up working for a Yorkshire company and Fisher, as a born and bred Essex man, is no exception.

“Of course they take the mickey. I’d expect them to. I’ve got a thick skin. I had a Ford Capri in my early 20s when I was shifting boxes in Chelmsford.”

​Fisher started at the bottom, stacking shelves at an Essex computer firm.

“That’s how I fell into IT​,” he admits.

With a granddad who was a blacksmith in Essex, you can see how far Fisher has come from his roots, but he’s taking the famous Yorkshire mickey taking with a pinch of salt.

Title: CEO of Redcentric

Date of birth: 26.03.70

Place of birth: Essex

Education: Brentwood School, Essex

Loughborough University

Favourite band: “I used to like heavy metal. I listen to anything, a bit of classical, Adele or Coldplay.”

Car driven: Mercedes four wheel drive and a Ford Fiesta

Favourite film: Star Wars

Favourite holiday destination: Algarve, Portugal

Last book read: “Black Tide” by Peter Temple

What I am most proud of: “My wife and my children. I’m genuinely proud of what we’ve achieved at Redcentric. It really is a team effort.”