Equistone-backed WHP Telecoms acquires Blue Clarity Design Services

Warrington-based WHP Telecoms Limited (“WHP”) has acquired Blue Clarity Design Services Ltd (“Blue Clarity”).

Founded in 2013 by Darren Fenton, Blue Clarity is a market-leading wireless design company with headquarters in County Down, Northern Ireland, and a regional office in Glasgow. The specialist firm provides full acquisition and design services to operators, multi-site providers and small works contractors throughout the UK and Ireland.  

Headquartered in Warrington, with seven offices and a workforce of c.700 people across the UK, private-equity-backed WHP is a market-leading provider of infrastructure support and deployment services to the UK telecommunications industry. WHP works closely with all the key parties in the industry, offering a complete range of in-house, multi-disciplinary capabilities. 

Equistone Partners Europe (“Equistone”) completed the management buyout of WHP in 2018 and set out a strategy to grow the company organically and through strategic acquisitions. Under the leadership of CEO Rob Potter, WHP made its first acquisition, of Sitec Infrastructure Services Ltd, a project management company providing end-to-end solutions for the UK’s mobile and fixed line network operators, in December 2019. The transaction was followed by the acquisition of Redhall Network Solutions, a Derbyshire-based service provider to the mobile telecommunications and broadcast sectors, in March 2021, adding robust maintenance and update capabilities. 

This latest transaction provides WHP the opportunity to in-source outstanding design and survey capabilities, further strengthening its position in the sector. 

Rob Potter, CEO of WHP, said: “The team at Blue Clarity have developed an excellent reputation for their design capability in recent years and we are delighted to be welcoming them into WHP. Design expertise and capacity are key enablers to delivering the high-volume complex programmes that our customers require. This acquisition strengthens the engineering base of the group and adds to our technical offering. 

“WHP has worked closely with Blue Clarity for several years and we are delighted to be welcoming Hugh, Darren and the whole team into the group. This transaction closely follows our recent acquisition of Redhall Network Solutions and we believe that this further strengthens our client service offering, which will benefit the UK’s communication networks as investment in 5G and fibre gathers pace.”

Darren Fenton & Hugh Morgan, Directors of Blue Clarity, jointly said: “We are thrilled to announce that Blue Clarity will be joining WHP. This will provide the support and opportunity for Blue Clarity to grow and develop further within the telecoms market. This has all been made possible by the hard work and dedication of the overall team behind Blue Clarity. We are looking forward to supporting the WHP group, alongside our current customer base.”

Clearwater International supported WHP with corporate finance and debt advisory services on the transaction, with Addleshaw Goddard providing legal advice and PwC providing financial due diligence.

Blue Clarity was advised by Mills Selig and Baker Tilly Mooney Moore.