Thinking about retiring or stepping back from your IT support business?
If you've spent years building an IT support business, your client relationships are likely to be one of its most valuable assets. When the time comes to retire, reduce your hours or move on to something different, finding the right company to look after those clients can matter as much as the financial side of the deal.
At Starma, we're interested in speaking confidentially with owners of small IT support companies and managed service providers who are considering what comes next.
A flexible approach to succession
There isn't one right way to hand over an IT business. You may want to sell the entire company and step away. You might prefer to transfer only your business customers while keeping another part of the business. Or you may want to reduce your involvement gradually while introducing your clients to a new support team.
We're happy to consider different arrangements, including:
Our priority is finding an arrangement that works for the owner, the customers and Starma.
Your customers will be looked after
For many small IT businesses, customers have been with the same person for 10, 15 or even 20 years. Handing those relationships to another provider isn't simply a financial transaction, and we don't treat it as one.
Starma is an established UK managed IT and cybersecurity provider supporting small and medium-sized organisations. We provide ongoing IT support alongside Microsoft 365, cybersecurity, cloud services, backup, networking, business continuity and communications.
Where appropriate, existing services can continue through the transition rather than customers being forced into an immediate change of systems or suppliers. The objective is a smooth handover with minimal disruption.
We've been through this process ourselves
Starma has grown partly through the acquisition and continuation of an established IT business. That experience means we understand both sides of the process — not only the commercial considerations, but the importance of introducing customers carefully, transferring technical knowledge and maintaining trust that may have taken many years to build.
We're not an investment fund or an anonymous national consolidator. We're an independent IT business interested in building long-term customer relationships.
What we're looking for
We're particularly interested in speaking with owners of smaller IT businesses providing services such as:
Your business doesn't need to operate a traditional MSP model. If you support a portfolio of business customers on an ad-hoc, hourly, retainer or managed-service basis, we'd still be interested in talking.
Where we're looking
Primarily London, Surrey, Kent, Sussex and the South East — although we'd consider businesses elsewhere in the UK where customers can predominantly be supported remotely.
Your business doesn't need to be formally for sale
You may simply be starting to think about retirement. Perhaps you'd like to work fewer hours. You may have reached the point where employing additional staff and investing in new systems no longer appeals. Or you may just want to understand what options exist for your customers when you eventually decide to step away.
That's absolutely fine. An initial conversation doesn't commit either of us to anything — we can have a confidential discussion about your business, your customers and what you'd ideally like to happen.
What happens next?
The first step is simply a confidential conversation. We'd normally want to understand:
- Approximately how many business customers you support
- The types of organisations you look after
- Approximately how many users or devices you support
- The services you currently provide
- How customers currently pay for support
- Whether you're considering a complete sale or a gradual handover
- Your preferred timeframe
We don't need detailed customer information at this stage. If it looks as though there could be a good fit, we can discuss next steps from there.
Frequently asked questions
No. We're happy to speak with owners planning several years ahead as well as those looking for a more immediate exit.
No. In some situations we're more interested in acquiring the commercial customer portfolio than the company itself.
Potentially, yes. Many long-established IT businesses operate successfully through ad-hoc support, retainers or informal arrangements with long-standing customers.
We're particularly interested in smaller owner-managed IT businesses and customer portfolios. You don't need hundreds of customers or a large team.
Not necessarily. A gradual transition is often beneficial, and we're happy to discuss arrangements where the existing owner stays involved during an agreed handover period.
No. Our objective is continuity first. Any future improvements would be considered carefully and introduced only where they give the customer a genuine benefit.
Yes. We understand that discussions about succession or selling a business are sensitive, and we treat an initial enquiry confidentially.