{"id":1013000000248,"date":"2014-01-15T12:53:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T12:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.version1.com\/en-us\/?post_type=news&#038;p=1013000000248"},"modified":"2026-09-11T12:54:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T12:54:00","slug":"version-1-acquires-rocela-second-uk-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.version1.com\/en-us\/news\/version-1-acquires-rocela-second-uk-acquisition\/","title":{"rendered":"Version 1 acquires Rocela; second UK acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"single-column-content single-column-content--container-regular single-column-content--align-left  block-theme-light block-surface-white\">\n    \n    <div class=\"container\">\n        <div class=\"single-column-content__inner\" data-aos=\"fade-up\">\n            \n                            <div class=\"single-column-content__content standard-body\">\n                    <p>Version 1 announced the acquisition of <strong>Rocela Group<\/strong>, a specialist enterprise applications consultancy with operations in Edinburgh and Knutsford, marking another significant step in the company&#8217;s UK expansion strategy.<\/p>\n<p>Founded in 2001 by <strong>Martin Mutch<\/strong> and <strong>Kenneth Wilson<\/strong>, Rocela Group had built a strong reputation delivering enterprise application consultancy services to major organisations across the banking, utilities, public sector and FTSE 100 markets.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>At the time of acquisition, Rocela Group:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Generated annual revenues of approximately <strong>\u00a314 million (\u20ac17 million)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Employed <strong>75 people<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Operated from offices in <strong>Edinburgh<\/strong> and <strong>Knutsford<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Served global banks, FTSE 100 companies, utilities and government organisations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>Accelerating Growth Across the UK and Europe<\/h5>\n<p>The acquisition formed part of Version 1&#8217;s ambitious growth strategy and followed its acquisition of the UK business operations of <strong>Tieto Corporation<\/strong> in November 2013.<\/p>\n<p>Following completion of the transaction:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Version 1 employed approximately <strong>500 people<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>More than <strong>100 employees<\/strong> were based in the UK<\/li>\n<li>Forecast revenues for FY2014 were approximately <strong>\u00a352 million (\u20ac62 million)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The acquisition significantly strengthened Version 1&#8217;s capabilities in enterprise applications, consultancy services and software licence management.<\/p>\n<h5>Expanding Oracle and Microsoft Expertise<\/h5>\n<p>Commenting on the announcement, <strong>Justin Keatinge, CEO of Version 1<\/strong>, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Version 1 and Rocela Group represent an excellent fit with strong synergies in terms of growth ambition, corporate values, employee engagement and customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>We expect this acquisition to benefit all our customers by bringing together consolidated expertise in Oracle and Microsoft Enterprise Application Consultancy and Licence Management, while establishing Version 1 as the go-to IT services provider for enterprise-scale organisations across Western Europe.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The combined organisation strengthened its ability to deliver complex enterprise transformation programmes for large organisations operating mission-critical systems.<\/p>\n<h5>New Opportunities for Customers and Employees<\/h5>\n<p><strong>Kenneth Wilson, Co-founder and Commercial Director of Rocela Group<\/strong>, welcomed the acquisition:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;This deal will accelerate Rocela Group&#8217;s growth ambitions and deliver greater breadth and depth of services to our customer base, while creating significant career development opportunities for our employees across new geographies, industries and customer environments.<\/p>\n<p>We are very excited to be joining Version 1 and are confident of a successful integration and a strong future for all parties involved.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The acquisition offered customers access to a broader portfolio of services while creating opportunities for employees across the expanded business.<\/p>\n<h5>Leadership and Integration<\/h5>\n<p>Following the acquisition:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Justin Keatinge<\/strong> remained CEO of the combined organisation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Martin Mutch<\/strong>, CEO of Rocela Group, stepped down from his executive role and remained involved in a consultancy capacity to support integration activities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kenneth Wilson<\/strong> joined the Version 1 Management Team.<\/li>\n<li>Rocela Group continued trading as <strong>Rocela Limited<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This approach provided continuity for customers while ensuring a smooth integration process.<\/p>\n<h5>Strengthening Version 1&#8217;s Position in Enterprise IT Services<\/h5>\n<p>The addition of Rocela Group reinforced Version 1&#8217;s position as one of the fastest-growing IT services organisations in Western Europe.<\/p>\n<p>By combining expertise across Oracle, Microsoft, enterprise applications and software asset management, the acquisition enhanced Version 1&#8217;s ability to support large-scale digital transformation programmes for enterprise and public sector customers throughout the UK and Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            \n                    <\/div>\n    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