The company

FDM Group is an international IT services company specialising in six core service areas: project management office, development, application support, testing, infrastructure and training. Founded in 1990, with its HQ in Brighton and a further six offices in London, Manchester, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Zurich and New York, FDM made £5.5m EBITDA on revenues of £52.9m in 2009. The company works with approximately 200 blue-chip clients including the BBC, Barclays, HSBC, The AA, BSkyB, Detica and British Airways.

FDM operates a unique business model whereby IT-literate graduates are provided with intensive training in a number of disciplines including; Java, .Net, Testing, Application Support, Infrastructure and PMO through the FDM Academy Programme. Only the most talented graduates, make it through the stringent selection process, benefiting from first-class training, which culminates in a two-year employment contract with FDM. Once qualified, these IT Consultants are in high demand from large organisations looking for entry level IT staff. FDM provides these IT Consultants to clients on flexible 1-2 year contracts creating strong revenue visibility for the business. Frequently, FDM IT Consultants are supplied alongside more senior freelance IT contractors from FDM, creating an integrated package of skills.

FDM’s robust business model has enabled the company to grow steadily throughout the downturn that has severely impacted many other IT services providers. In early 2010, demand picked up significantly with FDM having over 850 billable individuals at work (400+ IT Consultants and 450+ freelancers), up from circa 600 at this time last year. Inflexion and FDM’s strategy is to continue this growth by expanding the range of industry sectors and geographies targeted, whilst also adding more IT specialisms to its skills offering.

The investment

The £35.4m public-to-private was led by John Hartz, Richard Swann and Gareth Healy. Both John and Richard join the Board of the acquiring entity, Astra 5.0 Limited, as non executive Directors.

This acquisition builds on Inflexion’s strategy of acquiring high margin businesses that are resilient throughout the cycle. Additionally, it operates in the IT Services sector, where we have particular experience.

“Inflexion has strong expertise in the IT sector and has shown its ability to expand international businesses. We have enjoyed working with the team during the deal process and look forward to their involvement in the next stage of FDM’s growth and development. FDM is now well structured to enable us to pursue the significant market opportunities available.” Rod Flavell, CEO, FDM.