Swindon-based IT and communications support company Excalibur is forecasting more rapid growth after its recent acquisition and a senior management change.
James Phipp, the architect of the firm’s expansion over recent years, has become executive chairman with non-executive director and former Vodafone commercial marketing director Peter Boucher, pictured, replacing him as CEO. 
The changeover came days after Excalibur acquired the support services division of Newbury-based IT consultancy Ntegra in a move it said would strengthened its position as a complete communications and IT partner.
James Phipps is widely viewed as laying a solid foundation for growth at Excalibur, having taken the business from a mobile reseller to fully-fledged managed services supplier.
This has included major investment in systems and products to support very high levels of customer service. In setting the business apart from its competitors, he has also made unprecedented commitments to staff development and local community projects, including the new Younite Foundation charitable trust he has created.
He said: “With Excalibur ready for rapid growth, now is the time for Peter and the excellent management team we have in place to drive the business forward.
“As executive chairman I will still be heavily involved in the business, with particular focus on new opportunities, acquisitions and our work with good causes. For such a sought-after professional as Peter to become our new CEO speaks volumes about the wellbeing and reputation of the business.
“I know that the company’s future is in very good hands with somebody who knows Excalibur and the industry inside out”.
Peter Boucher, who joined Excalibur in 2013 as a non-executive director, called it “a very exciting move”.
“James has done a magnificent job in taking the company from a mobile reseller to a complete and highly reputable communications and IT partner. The business is on a very solid footing with lots of potential to grow
“I’ve also been attracted by its wholehearted commitment to staff and the local community projects it supports. I am looking forward to steering the new path of the Excalibur success story”.
Excalibur has almost doubled in size over the past seven years, moving to Swindon’s showpiece Arclite House, becoming a Sunday Times Top 100 Company and a Vodafone Total Communications Partner, as well as maintaining its position as a Microsoft Gold Partner.
Mr Phipps said the acquisition of Ntegra’s support services division fitted in with Excalibur’s continuing sustained growth by “adding extra strength and depth to our technical support team, as well as gaining important customers in the education and charitable sectors”.
Ntegra co-founder and CEO Andy Jefferies added: “Our core focus is providing consulting and enterprise managed services to a strong portfolio of FTSE 100 and 250 clients.
“With this in mind we took the strategic decision to find a home for our support services. We are delighted to have found Excalibur, a company that specialises in this area and shares the same values as we do – in particular to provide the very best in customer experience. We are confident that personnel and clients have plenty to look forward to with an organisation that is also so passionate about its staff and local community.”
Last year Excalibur acquired the specialist Chippenham-based IT firm Devision – another business with a very good reputation for customer service – and previously took over IT businesses Bridge Solutions and Emnico Enterprises in 2010.
