Channel veteran acquires Akari Solutions as he looks to give laid-off tech talent new home

Stuart Fenton intends to grow Microsoft partner's headcount from 20 to 100 staff as he expresses disappointment with recent tech sector cutbacks

Stuart Fenton has made a return to the UK channel after the investment firm he leads acquired Microsoft partner Akari Solutions.

Glasgow-based Akari has sold up to Woolf Partners, which former Insight UK and Quantiq CEO Fenton founded in 2021 following Quantiq's acquisition by Avanade.

Woolf Partners will make a "significant investment" to expand Akari's business. It plans to open a London office near Microsoft.

Fenton trailed the move on LinkedIn last month, revealing that he was "considering coming out of my semi-retirement of investing to build another great technology business" in response to the mass vendor layoffs witnessed in January.

Although Fenton had been looking at Akari for some time, recent events "simply accelerated me to buy the business and invest for growth", Fenton told CRN.

"There is no doubt that the market is filled with opportunity. I was a little disappointed with the market layoffs and my note clearly resonated because around 400,000 people saw it on LinkedIn and a few thousand wrote to me and agreed, often asking for jobs," he said.

"A huge amount of talent has been laid off and I wanted to give as many as I could a new home. So we will commence recruiting in the UK across sales and technical roles immediately," he said.

The plan is to boost Akari's headcount from its current 20 to 80, he confirmed.

Founded in 2019, Akari has a focus on Microsoft growth hotspots including Microsoft Power Platform, Modern Workplace and Teams, according to its new owner.

While Fenton is now Akari chairman, Quantiq's former COO Andrea Bright will become its CEO. Akari founder Margaret Totten moves to the CMO role.

In a statement, Totten added: "Stuart and his team bring capital and a wealth of experience to help drive and grow Akari to greater heights - we continue to be committed to Microsoft technologies and expect to expand within Power Platform, Teams, Modern Workplace, Data & Analytics and Security."