This week in the ICT Channel...

Comms Dealer magazine rounds up the top channel news that broke during the week.....

Channel Champions announces 2024 awards shortlist

The shortlist has been announced for Channel Champions 2024, which recognises the teams powering the ICT channel’s continued success.

Companies from all corners of the industry have entered this year’s process and 114 submissions have been shortlisted, covering teams working in sales, marketing, engineering, billing, culture, and management.

“We have had a wonderful cohort of companies entering this year with even more new faces, underlining what a dynamic and inspiring industry we work in,” said BPL Business Media MD Michael O’Brien.

A team of judges selected for their knowledge and experience across the award category disciplines will now decide on the winners. Giacom is headline sponsor for the event.

“We’re looking forward to celebrating with our sponsors and finalists at the industry event of the summer,” added O’Brien.

The alfresco awards lunch which will again be staged in the ground of Regents University in Regents Park, London on July 4th.

To view the shortlist, visit:?https://www.channel-champions.com/finalists.php

BGF-backed Celerity Limited acquires Chilli IT Ltd ?

Celerity has acquired Chester-based Chilli IT to take its turnover north of ￡40m and grow its team to 95.?

The deal also strengthens Celerity’s technical expertise and facilitates expansion into new sectors such as logistics and retail.?

This is the first deal for Celerity, which secured a ￡15m investment from BGF in 2021, as it embarks on an acquisition trail to supercharge future growth.?

Celerity’s COO Craig Aston , said: “We’ve experienced strong organic growth with our managed services and have been looking for potential acquisitions to support the strategic direction of the business.”

“There’s an excellent synergy between Celerity and Chilli and today’s deal enhances our service offerings while enabling cross-selling opportunities to drive growth through integration.”

Chilli’s team of 17 will maintain their roles and continue to operate from a base in Chester with the brand being retained.?

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Fifteen Group - Be Smarter through Technology hits ￡5m turnover milestone

Fifteen Group has broken through the ￡5m turnover mark for the first time in the year it celebrates its 18th birthday.

Between 2021 and 2024 the company has increased its turnover by ￡2m pounds and intends to hit the ￡10m mark in the next five years.

To facilitate this, the 50-strong company plans to relocate to bigger premises in Hanley later this year, in a ￡500,000 move.

Its growth has been spurred by client acquisitions and a focus on the retail sector.

Director Ian Walker said: “Our focus now is to continue our upwards trajectory and to achieve a ￡10, turnover within the next five years. ?We are adding to our client base all the time and widening our geographical reach.”

NG Bailey boosts cloud UC play with PXC partnership

The IT Services business of NG Bailey has agreed a new strategic partnership with PlatformX Communications, supporting growth by bringing in an estimated ￡500,000 of new business opportunities per year.

Set to run until December 2025, this agreement will boost NG Bailey’s SD-WAN and cloud-based unified communications offering.

Kelly Tedesco , MD at NG Bailey IT Services, said: “The partnership will further enhance NG Bailey’s delivery of end-to-end communications solutions for clients across a range of sectors and support our team’s continued development.”

This is the latest in a string of partnerships, following its recently announced agreements with Ring Central and Nokia.

Thanks for reading, enjoy the break and we hope to see you back here next Friday for the latest news update. Be sure to subscribe at the top of this newsletter to get your copy.