Sharp's UK business gobbles up £15m-revenue VAR

Sharp Business Systems UK has acquired Microsoft Gold partner Complete I.T.

Sharp Business Systems UK (SBSUK) has acquired High Wycombe-headquartered Complete IT.

Microsoft Gold partner Complete IT was founded in 1992 and reported turnover of £14.6m for its year ending 31 March 2018. It ranked 211 in CRN's Top 300 VARs 2018.

It has offices in Swindon, Bristol, London and Peterborough.

SBSUK is a direct sales division of Japanese ginat Sharp Electronics. It generated £96.7m for its fiscal year ending 31 March 2018.

This is the second acquisition of a UK partner by Sharp in two years after it bought Midshire in 2017.

Sharp claimed that the addition of Complete IT's suite of solutions will strengthen its own position in the IT market.

It also stated that the purchase will support its channel partners' growth ambitions through a wider array of products and services.

Complete IT will retain its name and operate as an independent business as part of the agreement.

"We are keen to expand what we do as a business and this acquisition deepens our technical resources and expertise and allows us to further enhance our technology offerings and provides us with access to exciting new products and technologies which will now benefit an even wider audience of clients," said Colin Blumenthal, MD and co-founder of Complete IT.

Stuart Sykes, managing director of SBSUK, added: "This acquisition is a key strategic milestone for SBSUK.

"Complete IT has a very similar customer-centric DNA to Sharp and we will continue to invest and focus on developing a service portfolio to accommodate the growing needs of current and future customers.

"Complete IT will enable us to widen our focus, improve our technical expertise and enhance our customer offering, positioning us as a trusted partner for our customers' workplace technology needs.

"We are excited about what we can learn from each other and see this as a great opportunity to grow our businesses together and make Complete IT a national business alongside our own."