Mid-market VAR Kelway has today announced the acquisition of London-based HP and VMware partner Panacea Services. The deal will see Panacea’s managed services and virtualisation business augment Kelway’s portfolio of product, consultancy and lifecycle solutions.
Established in 1992, Panacea Services offers storage solutions, IT consulting, information lifecycle management alongside supplying hardware and software. The company employs 110 staff, with 70 percent of them focused directly on providing project and technical services.
Peter Stroud, managing director of Panacea Services, will join the Kelway board and assumes the role of head of Kelway's solutions and services offering. In a statement, he comments: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Kelway in a move that will be hugely beneficial to both parties. Panacea Services has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 1992 to its current position as an agile and profitable leader in managed services and virtualisation. Kelway’s investment in Panacea Services underscores our position as one of the UK’s premier value added resellers. It will enable us to continue to serve our loyal customer base as the leading IT infrastructure systems provider for London, and to work with new customers throughout the UK.”
Noted for its ambitious growth plans, Kelway posted revenues of more than £55m for the first half of its 2008/9 financial year. Much of the firm’s growth followed its acquisition in June 2007 of the assets of IT infrastructure and services group Elcom ITG. The integration of Panacea Services creates a combined business with revenues in excess of £140m.
“The acquisition of Panacea Services represents another dynamic move forward for Kelway and a key step in strengthening our position as the UK’s foremost mid-market IT reseller,” says Phil Doye, Kelway’s CEO. “With the addition of Panacea Services’ expertise in managed services and virtualisation we see great opportunities for our existing clients. We will continue to seek out further complementary additions to the company, enabling us to fulfil our growth plans despite this tough economic climate.”
Both Kelway and Panacea Services are HP Gold accredited partners. In 2008 Panacea was named HP’s Mid-Market Preferred Partner of the Year. Commenting on the acquisition, Dave Poskett, director of Solutions Partner Organisation for the UK & Ireland at HP, says: “It is encouraging to see two of our Gold accredited partners coming together. This can only help their respective HP customers, and HP looks forward to supporting them in their continued growth.”
In addition to its status as an HP Gold accredited partner, Panacea Services was the first VAR in EMEA to deliver VMware as an OEM solution.
