Member Article

Strive Capital outlines aggressive growth strategy, following Academia acquisition

Capital investment firm, Strive Capital, is seeking new acquisition opportunities after recently completing the multi-million pound majority share acquisition of education-specialist Apple reseller, Academia.

Strive Capital provides hands-on sales, operational and financial expertise to help fuel the growth of pioneering businesses.

Launched in early Autumn 2020 by Andrew Harman, former founder of technology services firm, Annodata, and Joe Kelly, a former MD and CFO with over 25 years’ experience in technology businesses, Strive has wasted little time enacting its commitment in helping technology organisations realise their ambitions.

The company recently acquired a majority stake in the Academia Group, which will help it continue its year-on-year growth, whilst expanding and diversifying into additional markets and services. It will also allow Academia to fast-track investment into M&A plans, as well as enhancing future developments into existing service propositions.

Critically, the investment aligns with Strive’s aggressive growth strategy, which co-founder Harman, discusses: “Strive was built by entrepreneurs to support entrepreneurs. We understand how hard it is for companies to grow – particularly in the current climate and that is where we strongly believe we can make a difference. Leveraging the collective experience and knowledge between myself and Joe, we want to work with companies we can go on a journey with together.

“We are passionate about technology, as well as creating new jobs and opportunities for individuals ­– particularly at this challenging time – and therefore we are actively seeking majority or significant minority positions in IT services, cyber security, telecoms and managed print businesses. The financial muscle behind us means we have the ability to move rapidly when we spot the right opportunities.”

Discussing the acquisition of Academia, Harman says, “Academia has an excellent heritage in providing IT services, particularly to thousands of schools, colleges and universities across the UK and has a very strong and experienced management team. Having acquired a major shareholding in the company, we see huge potential to significantly enhance Academia’s managed service offering into complementary product lines and markets.”

The move to enhance Academia’s service offering aligns with Strive’s strategy in helping organisations to maximise growth potential, by consolidating more IT services for customers – whether it be IT, managed print or telecoms – under one roof.

“We see a gap in the market for companies like Academia to differentiate themselves by providing a fully managed service, taking the headache away from customers dealing with multiple vendors and suppliers. In turn, we’re confident this will enable businesses, like Academia and others, to reach new levels of success,” Harman concluded.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Strive Capital .