News
LDC-backed Vista Technology Support acquires leading Irish retail technology support company
22 Jul 2024
Vista Technology Support (Vista) has announced the acquisition of Store Computer Technology (SCT) for an undisclosed sum. The move further expands Vista’s retail and hospitality support capabilities in Ireland and Europe and will strengthen its position as the leading independent retail IT services provider.
SCT was established in 1994 by John Hogan and has grown substantially over three decades. It now provides IT service desk, in-store technology maintenance and technology refresh projects to some of the most well-known Irish and international retail and hospitality brands.
With its head office, service desk, staging centre and warehouses based in Dublin, forward stock locations and field service engineers located throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, SCT is well established and provides a tried and trusted service support model to over 7,000 retail and hospitality locations throughout the country.
Vista’s M&A activity was led by Lucy Mayer, Vista’s Commercial Director. Lucy has extensive experience in M&A and corporate finance having previously held senior positions at PwC and Development Bank of Wales.
Lucy said: “I am delighted to have worked with John and his team on this transaction. This acquisition is the natural culmination of many years of close partnership between Vista and SCT. We are now really excited to enter the next chapter of our partnership, which will cement Vista’s presence in Ireland and enable continued investment in SCT to allow for future growth and service enhancement.”
John Hogan, Managing Director at SCT, said: “This is great news for our customers, partners and staff. We have enjoyed a successful strategic working partnership with Vista over many years. This transaction helps us leverage already existing synergies and provides the platform for continued growth and exciting new opportunities. It allows SCT to enhance existing services and introduce new innovative offerings both to existing and new customers. It also enables us to offer a seamless service offering to customers who trade in Ireland, UK and Europe.
“We share common goals, and we all look forward to working with James, Lucy and their team in the future.”
James Pepper, CEO of Vista, added: “We are very pleased to be able to announce the acquisition of SCT; Lucy and John have worked very hard to make this deal possible. I am looking forward to welcoming John and his colleagues into the Vista family.
The acquisition is of strategic importance to Vista as it provides our business with a platform for further growth, enhances the services that we provide UK-based businesses that have stores and restaurants in Ireland and provides SCT with the investment and support to continue its growth and expansion of services in-country.
“The addition of SCT to the Vista Group also means that collectively we are the only independent retail IT services provider with operations of scale in-country using our own employed colleagues. Our combined customer base extends to over 100 leading retail, hospitality, entertainment, and pharmacy businesses with more than 40,000 locations; together we support over 300,000 PoS and self-service systems plus an extensive array of other in-store technologies.
“Our customers will enjoy a one company approach to IT services throughout the UK and Ireland.”
Vista Technology Support has been backed by LDC since October 2017.
