While the merger creates one of the UK’s largest independent IT service providers, Williams indicated that further acquisitions are unlikely in the short term. “The worst thing you can do is acquire when you’re mid-merger,” he said. “We need to build the platform first, bed this down, and make sure the culture, processes and teams are fully integrated before looking outward again.”

He also praised the cultural fit between the two organisations: “The energy, the enthusiasm, the tenure — it all feels right. You’ve got two sets of people coming together to create one team.”

For customers and partners, the outcome will be a single organisation offering a deeper, more integrated portfolio — spanning cloud, security, networking, automation and data services — underpinned by relationships with leading vendors including Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, HPE, Hitachi Vantara, Palo Alto and Citrix. “This merger gives us the scale, the expertise and the reach to anticipate our clients’ needs and unlock new opportunities,” Williams concluded. “We’re combining the best of both worlds to deliver value and innovation at every level.”

Trustmarque was acquired by One Equity Partners in 2022 and subsequently bought software asset management specialist Livingstone. Ultima, majority-owned by Apse Capital since 2019, has grown its automation and cloud business through its acquisition of Just After Midnight in 2021. The combined company’s leadership team will be announced following internal briefings, with completion of the merger expected in early November 2025.