L-R: Pieter DeGunst (Tecala), Steve Nola
Tecala has bagged $18 million from investment firm Armitage Associates in order to chart a major nationwide expansion.
With the funding, the Sydney-based managed services provider (MSP) intends to pursue a series of acquisitions, as well as expand its presence in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
As a result of the deal, Armitage will take a "significant” take in Tecala, with former NTT Australia and Dimension Data CEO Steve Nola joining its board as its chairman.
On his appointment, Nola told ARN the MSP “has a tremendous opportunity to continue to serve an important segment of the market that relies more heavily on the effective use of IT to help run and transform their business”.
“The company’s continued focused on building out its service offering and upskilling its workforce will ensure that it can continue to build strong momentum and be recognised as a transformation partner of choice in the growing mid-enterprise segment of the market,” he said.
A portion of the funding will go towards expanding the Tecala team, according to managing director, Pieter DeGunst.
“We are always on the lookout for areas where we can acquire new capabilities and this funding will enable us to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise,” he said.
DeGunst also said the business’ focus will be on growing its portfolio and increasing Tecala’s reach.
“Working with Armitage, we will have a network of people with the experience to help us achieve our goals,” he added.
DeGunst added the partnership between the two companies “comes at an important time for the company”, as Tecala expands both its operations and services portfolio.
“This new partnership with Armitage will allow us to further scale the business nationally and increase our investment into emerging technology areas to prepare our clients for the future,” he said.
Armitage managing director and now-Tecala board member Mark De Ambrosis said the investment firm had been examining the managed services market and could see the potential for strong future growth across Australia.
“We could clearly see that Tecala had already established a strong footprint and had a clear plan for ongoing growth," he added.
In late March, Tecala revealed it had been involved in a multi-year IT program with National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan specialist My Plan Manager.
Under the program, Tecala provided managed services, communications, cyber security and data protection.
