Our Corporate Finance team advises IBS Office Solutions on their sale to Buck Star Managed Services Limited

Our Corporate Finance team recently advised IBS Office Solutions Limited on its sale to Buck Star Managed Services Limited, led by Stuart Williams and supported by Julia Carruthers.

IBS Office Solutions Limited is a leading provider of innovative workplace solutions. Headquartered in Henley on Thames, IBS has 34 employees and nearly 30+ years’ experience in reprographics. The Company provides copy, print and scan equipment and software solutions to businesses, schools, political parties and churches. It also offers paper and other educational, office supplies including furniture through its stationery division, visitor management systems and visual solutions for interactive learning.

Buck Star Managed Services Limited is a newly formed UK-based company with a strategic plan to grow market share in print, telecom and cloud based IT services to its clients. IBS is the Company’s first acquisition in the managed print services space.

Caleb Southwell, Managing Director at IBS Office Solutions Limited commented: “When we decided to take the business to the market we engaged with three potential companies and James Cowper Kreston was a standout winner. Their analysis of our market was thorough and wide ranging. Julia’s attention to detail was first class and both she and Stuart were always available should we need them night and day. 

We always had confidence that Julia and Stuart would be able to negotiate the right deal for IBS. The icing on the cake was their skill in negotiating deal points towards closing; they took the reins and powered the sale to the finish line. Many thanks to the entire James Cowper Kreston team.”

Mark Garius, Managing Director of  Buck Star Managed Services Limited commented: “With the help of James Cowper Kreston, IBS Office Solutions Limited, headquartered in Henley-on-Thames, has become the first business to become part of a new group established by myself and Paul Derry, who together have a significant number of years in leading positions in companies in the managed print services sector (including running ASL as it grew from £6m turnover to £40m over 10 years). Our plan is to leverage IBS’s considerable strengths in delivering market-leading service excellence to its customers, expertise built over the past 20 years, and to grow both its customer base and its breadth of services so that it becomes the preferred independent provider of print, telecommunications and IT services to its clients.”

Stuart Williams, who led the team at James Cowper Kreston Corporate Finance, commented: “We were pleased to advise IBS Office Solutions Limited on this transaction. The sale to Buck Star Managed Services Limited represents a strong strategic fit and will support the continued growth of the business while enhancing its ability to deliver exceptional value to clients.”