Entrepreneurs working with other entrepreneurs – inside Miss Group’s acquisition engine

Miss Group has built a rapidly expanding, global company through a carefully executed buy and build strategy. The Group has made more than 20 acquisitions since it was founded in 2014 as part of its goal to become a global provider of web hosting services. Acquisitions have been made in territories ranging from our native Sweden to North America, the UK and Europe. In fact, we’ve grown through acquisition at such a rate that the business is now the fastest growing web hosting company in Swedish history.

Our founder, Mattias Kaneteg , is passionate about entrepreneurialism in hosting businesses, and the company thrives on a philosophy never to lose its entrepreneurial flair. “Miss Group is a fast moving, agile business,” explains Mattias. “The company was born in the spirit of innovation, risk-taking and hunger for growth, and it’s those types of qualities we see mirrored in the many businesses we have acquired over the years and who now grow with us internationally. With annual billings in excess of €100m, Miss Group has been and continues to invest in structure and depth across the business to support its growth trajectory, but importantly it still retains the agility and entrepreneurial flair of a start-up.

“We’re a team of entrepreneurs working together to create the best web hosting business in the world – and every business that comes on that journey with us has that same thirst for success,” he said.

In general terms, Miss Group has historically been keen to acquire businesses that live our values: hard-working, successful companies that thrive on excellence. “We like to use the phrase ‘local champion’ – we are drawn to businesses that are already commanding their local market and have proven that they can grow quickly and sustainably,” explains Mattias. Customer service is also a key consideration. We are clear in our ambitions to be a trusted provider, and potential acquisitions are assessed based on their commitment to quality and customer care.

Mark Kerswell , the group’s Chief Financial Officer, agrees. “When we’re in talks with a business about a potential acquisition, we’re looking for evidence that they’re profitable, well regarded and have a growing customer base,” he said. “As the group is getting larger, we’re doing progressively bigger deals – our ‘sweet spot’ now is businesses with at least €1m EBITDA – but we’ll always be opportunistic and open to smaller, challenger businesses if they can demonstrate their ambition.”

The businesses Miss Group acquires tend to be founder-run, with that founder looking for someone who can elevate their lovingly grown company to another level. “From a founder’s point of view, we get it,” says Mattias. “We know what it means to grow a business from scratch; people want to find a good home for their business and they get that with Miss Group. On the whole, we retain the brand identities that we acquire – we don’t merge them into a faceless mega-brand. Instead, we offer the opportunity to grow through a much larger, international company.

“That’s often a really important selling point for founders looking for the right partner to sell to,” he added, “but others want to sell to a business that is going to develop their brand even further. We look for synergies within our existing companies and explore options to create bigger-reaching brands through mergers.” In fact, this happened earlier this year with?the creation of Hostek Sverige – a merger of various enterprise hosting businesses based in Sweden, which then assumed the Hostek name to mirror the Group’s existing successful enterprise hosting brand operating in the US and UK.

The most important thing a business seeking an eventual acquisition can do is to invest time in getting ready, says Mark. “We do a lot of deals, which means we know the due diligence process inside out. It can be an intense process, and sometimes people underestimate that. But we can move very quickly, as long as the seller is ready to move with us. We’ll run financial, legal and technical due diligence – they need to be ready for it all. But we’ve got a great track record in doing deals. When we engage in a process, we complete it – which offers a lot of reassurance to businesses when we’re in talks with them.”

Miss Group is working towards a goal of being a globally trusted and respected provider of hosting, domain and other online services that help SMEs do business online. Acquisitions, together with organic growth, are a vital part of its development strategy. For more information on how Miss Group works with smaller businesses to help them achieve their goals through acquisition, visit the Miss Group website