Connectus Business Solutions is marking 15 years in business with its sights firmly set on continued expansion, having more than doubled the number of users it supports and completed seven acquisitions since its growth strategy began.
Roy Shelton, CEO of Connectus Business Solutions, said the company’s anniversary on 11 August 2026 arrives at a particularly active stage in its development, with further acquisitions and investment expected to drive the next phase of growth.
“Fifteen years in, the pace is only increasing,” he said. “We’ve gone from a standing start in Doncaster to supporting more than 700 businesses and 15,000 users, and this is the most active period of acquisition and investment we’ve had in the business’s history. This isn’t a moment to slow down and reflect; it’s only the beginning of the next 15 years.”
The milestone comes shortly after Connectus completed a strategic investment in Glu Digital, marking the fastest transaction in the company’s history from initial announcement to completion and delivery. The businesses subsequently worked together on two projects within weeks of the deal, establishing the new Digital Connect Group.
Connectus has grown substantially since 2020, when it served 380 clients and 7,000 users. It now supports more than 700 businesses and over 15,000 end users, following seven transactions involving Cybersity, YouCloud Solutions, Mango Tech, IT 4 Growth, the PCSC customer base, the assets of i7 Technologies and, most recently, Glu Digital. Recurring revenue has increased at double-digit rates for three consecutive years, with turnover now forecast to surpass £6 million.
Founded in 2011 as Eximus Solutions, the business began as a spin-out from Peel Telecoms. Two years later, it built a full fibre network at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, followed by the launch of its UCentrix hosted voice platform in 2014. Connectus Group was formed following an acquisition in 2018, backed by FW Capital and chaired by Paul Ruocco. In 2019, Shelton, Commercial Director Andy Marden and Operations Director Phillippa Shelton set out to create a managed services company serving 500 customers. The business has since grown to more than twice that target.
Shelton said the company’s progress has been driven by maintaining its standards alongside its growth. “We didn’t just hit that target, we grew beyond it, more than doubled the number of users we support, completed seven transactions and built a great team along the way,” he said. “What matters most is that we’ve kept our standards. We still treat customer 700 exactly the way we treated customer one. That consistency is why partners like Glu Digital want to build something with us.”
The company continues to operate as a fully privately owned business, with every share held within its own team. In 2025, Connectus launched its Connectus Evolve AI-as-a-Service platform and was awarded SME of the Year at the Doncaster Chamber Awards. Its involvement in the local community has also developed, with the company moving from Club House Sponsor to front-of-shirt sponsor of Doncaster Knights.
Further growth remains a central part of Connectus’s plans, with the company targeting additional acquisitions across its managed services and channel businesses. It also intends to increase investment in AI-led managed services through Connectus Evolve while continuing its expansion throughout the Northern Powerhouse, Midlands and wider UK. Microsoft-stack-focused managed services businesses are among its priority acquisition targets for 2026 and 2027, alongside organic growth across cyber security, business connectivity and telephony.
“We are privately owned, team-owned and completely in control of our own pace, which means we can be bold,” Shelton added. “The market does not need another IT provider that just keeps the lights on. It needs partners who reduce cost, complexity and risk while genuinely innovating. That is what Digital Connect Group is about, that is what Connectus Evolve is about, and that is what the next 15 years of this business will be about.”
