Managing Director Alex Jukes says a management buyout at fast growing IT services and solutions company Mintivo has given it a sharper focus on the future. Mr Jukes, along with fellow directors Mark Adams, Graham Ford and Jake Jeffries have completed a share purchase from its two other major shareholders to take up the reins of the nine-year-old Chippenham company. It specialises in managed IT support, consultancy, cyber security and automation and last achieved 40 per cent growth for the second successive year.
Mr Jukes said the boardroom changes will mean ownership rests with four senior people who are closely involved with the business’s day-to-day operation and best understand its strengths. “We’re a relatively young organisation and the last few years has been very much around building the foundations,” he said. “We’ve had some really good growth as well as lots of challenges and we’ve shown tremendous resilience. What we’re doing now is showing our current and future customers that we are a team that is committed to that next phase.”
The company has worked in the defence sector since its formation but has gradually moved into manufacturing, professional services and charities. It has signed up a growing number of Third Sector partners, including Dorothy House Hospice, Prospect Hospice and Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance.
“Over the past few years we have had customers that have removed us from what our core business should be,” said Mr Jukes. “I think now we’ve become very authentic in terms of knowing what we’re good at and are not afraid to effectively turn down business opportunities if they’re not right for us. “It’s about how we continue to scale the business without having to constantly recruit people, using systems and technology, automation or AI to create that efficiency.”
He said Mintivo is on course to meet its target for the year. “The most important thing for us is the growth of managed services, that’s our key aim and it has been steady, so we’re delighted,” he said.
The company has adopted a policy of recruiting from within wherever possible, which has led to more apprentices being taken on. “We’ve found that our most loyal and amazing staff members and team members are people who started with us in their role,” said Mr Jukes. “They’ve taken the opportunity and we’ve given them the recognition and we are constantly asking ourselves how we do more of that.”
He said the management buyout brings a new clarity to the company’s plan for the years ahead. “I think we’re all really proud of what Mintivo has achieved in the last few years and we’re just really excited about the next five now,” he said. “We’ve got to that point of stability where we know what we’re doing next. We know what tomorrow’s going to look like and how we get there. So we’ve got that vision now.”
Pictured: Mintivo directors Jake Jeffries, left, Graham Ford, Mark Adams and Alex Jukes have completed a buyout of the company
