For the last several months, I have been working with the founders of Ixis IT, the leading software house in the UK for open source software, Drupal on their Management Buy Out (MBO).

Mike Carter and Chris Haslam of Ixis IT

Ixis IT was founded in Aug 2004 by Mike Carter and Chris Haslam on an equal shareholding leveraging their individual core competencies. In the early days, Mike focused on Drupal website design and Chris focused on Drupal hosting. Quickly they attracted a name for delivering quality Drupal projects and started to win larger customers.

ixis logoWhilst there were pressures on the business to expand into other areas, they resisted the temptations and remained 100% focused on servicing Drupal customers. Their persistence paid off when they secured large and crucial clients such as the British Council managing their multiple web properties. They became a prominent supplier to the UK Government via the G Cloud.

Ixis IT Team


Having relocated a number times, today, Ixis is based out at The Base in Warrington, the upcoming commercial district next to Warrington train station. Ixis also has a satellite office in Manchester to allow them to collaborate with their partners easily.

Ixis IT Intelligence by UnifiedVU

 

As you can see from the intelligence gathered via UnifiedVU single customer view, Chris has genuinely left the organisation and Mike is in charge.

So what’s now for Ixis? Mike now has the challenge of strengthening the management team to grow the business. As a dedicated Drupal house with a sizeable number of UK customers, the next stage is to not just strengthen the position in the UK market, but also to support global brands that leverage Drupal.

Chris has invested in various companies in the UK and the North West and has been instrumental in the success of bringing Ignite Accelerator to Manchester.

It would be a pleasure to watch how both of them continue to make their marks in Manchester and the North West. We wish Mike and Chris all the best for the future.

As for us, we couldn’t have chosen anyone better than Ixis to show our strength in M&A advisory services. This opportunity also allowed for us to work with Mark Briegal and Stuart Scott-Goldstone at Aaron & Partners closely.

If you are thinking of exiting (or acquiring) and would like a trusted party, don’t forget to give us a shout.

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