Comms Provider Daisy Group Acquires UK ISP XLN Telecom

Lancashire-based business communications provider Daisy Group has today officially acquired rival broadband ISP XLN Telecom, which is home to around 120,000 UK customers, for approximately £200 million. The move is expected to expand Daisy’s customer base in the SME sector to over 200,000.

According to XLN’s latest accounts, the company had a turnover of £53.18m in 2021 (down 6% from £56.55m in 2020), EBITDA of £17.06m (down 4.5% from £17.86m) and profit after tax of £13.93m (down from £14.62m). The slip in performance is largely attributed to customer churn and lower sales activity during COVID-19.

However, back in 2019 it was reported that XLN had hired advisers to investigate the prospect of selling the business, although nothing ever came of this. Until now.

Christian Nellemann, Founder and Executive Chair of XLN, said:

“We have been highly successful in our support of small businesses since our launch in 2002. We have continually innovated in both products and services which has enabled the company to continue to grow. Therefore, we felt the time was right to hand the reins over to Daisy, who have a great track record of investing and enhancing the businesses they acquire; the business and our customers are in safe hands.”

Matthew Riley, Daisy’s Chairman, said:

“With so much investment across the UK to improve the fibre infrastructure, Daisy is now well-positioned to help unlock the enhanced speed, reliability and security that customers want in their offices and shops up and down the country. There is also a vast opportunity in the creation of jobs as we need more staff to help deliver that service.”

The move follows only a few months after Daisy gobbled Premier Choice Telecom in a strategic move to add to its already growing business and customer base, although they were a significantly smaller provider than XLN (1,500 customers and a 40-strong workforce).