MSP M&A: Thrive Acquires Custard Technical Services

by Ty Trumbull • Nov 11, 2022

Next-gen MSP Thrive has acquired UK-based IT support company Custard Technical Services for an undisclosed sum.

This is technology M&A deal number 950 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022. See more than 1,000 technology M&A deals involving MSPs, MSSPs & IT service providers listed here.

Thrive, founded in 2000, is based in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The company has 483 employees listed on LinkedIn. Thrive’s areas of expertise include managed and outsourced IT services, hosted cloud services, help desk support, on-site engineering, strategic technology consulting, disaster recovery, business continuity planning, professional services, compliance and regulatory services, security, hybrid cloud, cybersecurity, DRaaS and fintech.

Custard Technical Services, founded in 1996, is based in Nottinghamshire, England. The company has 27 employees listed on LinkedIn. Custard’s areas of expertise include IT support, proactive IT support, managed IT services, virtualization, hosted exchange, unified communications, hosting, computer support, server support, disaster recovery, IT consultancy, leased line, networking, network support, IT security, cybersecurity, HaaS, network security, Microsoft Office 365, email and spam protection, IT cloud services and data storage.

Thrive Acquires Custard Technical Services: Executive Insight

Rob Stephenson, CEO, Thrive, commented:

“Custard is a customer-centric, no-nonsense IT support and security company that has an excellent track record of providing a superb IT experience to clients of all sizes for over two decades. We’re excited to add Custard to our ever-expanding U.K. operations due to their incredible management team, dedicated employees, and customers, as well as their attractive geographic location in Nottingham, which will open up the Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester markets for Thrive’s Managed Services & Cybersecurity offerings.”

Chris Pass, CEO and co-founder, Custard Technical Services, said:

“Custard has always been committed to delivering reliable and flexible high standards of IT services to go above and beyond the needs of the customer. We are excited to join Thrive’s global roster and believe that our proven track record and our top-tier talented professionals will be an excellent complement to expand Thrive’s extensive NextGen portfolio of solutions.”

Thrive’s M&A Growth

This is Thrive’s fifth acquisition in 2022 and its second acquisition outside of the United States since 2021. The deal strengthens the company’s global position, according to the company.

The other deals involved Edge Technology Group, SouthTech, Preemo and DSM.

Thrive has acquired more than a dozen MSPs, IT service providers and consulting firms since 2016. The company now positions itself as a “security-first MSP” that delivers “comprehensive managed services … to drive secure digital transformation for small to mid-sized enterprises across multiple industries,” Thrive said.