Until he was appointed Operations Director of Lyceum Capital in February 2006, David Harland was CEO of Fox IT, headquartered in Woking, Surrey. He was originally brought in as Chairman in March 2002, and took up his position when the company was refinanced later that year.
The company is a global specialist IT service management business that provides consultancy and training as well as outsourcing services. It has completed a series of add-on acquisitions since Lyceum acquired the original company, Ultracomp, in 2000 and changed its name to Fox IT. These add-ons include desktop managed service provider SMP later that year, CSC Health Contracts in 2001 and US service management consulting and training business Pultorak & Associates in 2003.
David's relationship went back a long way, "I have been involved with Lyceum in one way or another since the firm was set up. I've known Philip Buscombe for around 12 years now and he felt that my experience on a number of boards and as a company doctor would be useful at some point to Lyceum's portfolio companies. I had worked with Lyceum on a number of business proposals and in March 2002, they asked me to become Chairman of Fox IT."
"At the time, the company was not performing according to expectations and Lyceum wanted me to help set it back on the right track. It quickly became apparent that, despite the fact that it was fundamentally a good business, there were a number of operational issues that would require a change of management and a �2 million refinancing. I approached Lyceum with a proposal and together we drafted a revised business plan in the autumn of 2002. Lyceum agreed to refinance the company and in November 2002, I became CEO. Nick Temple, the former Chairman of IBM UK, who had originally been brought in by Lyceum as a non-executive director of Fox IT, became its Chairman."
"The development of Fox IT has not been easy, but I have found Lyceum to be very supportive of the measures that I have suggested. We did initially have to lay off some people, but we also brought in a new Finance Director and Managed Services Director and hired new people for the sales team. All of this was necessary for future growth and was endorsed by the team at Lyceum. Of course, it helps that we have a close relationship with Lyceum and I usually speak to them on a daily basis. They are often able to provide input to new ideas and are always prepared to help their portfolio companies find new customers by passing on contacts from their networks."
"The future for Fox IT will involve further acquisitions and joint ventures in both the managed services and the consultancy and training divisions of the business. One of our more important clients is Microsoft and to expand our business lines and our capabilities in the US, we recently acquired a small US operation that was very keen to associate itself with Fox IT. This company also had a good relationship with Microsoft in the US and serves a number of other clients over there. The acquisition has helped us gain a bigger footprint and boosted our marketing capabilities in the US market. Fox IT is also undertaking joint ventures in India and is looking to expand into China over the coming year. Lyceum's involvement in this will be key. It helps that both Philip and Jeremy Hand are extremely experienced and I know that they will be on hand to enable joint ventures and potential new acquisitions. Not only are they invaluable in structuring the deals but they are also able to introduce new leads for Fox to explore."
Speaking after three years of working with Lyceum, David said "A lot of private equity firms claim to be hands-on, but my experience with Lyceum has been that they are very approachable and happy to be involved where they have been needed. As an experienced company director, I don't need a financial sponsor on my back all the time. I have appreciated Lyceum's guidance and support when I have asked for it, but also their trust in me to get on with my job without undue interference."
