FourNet acquires SVL Business Solutions in fifth deal

FourNet has acquired SVL Business Solutions, giving the Manchester-based group a combined workforce of more than 230 people.

The deal is FourNet's fifth in six years. It brings the Glasgow-headquartered contact centre and customer experience specialist into a business with more than 450 customers and revenues of about £65 million.

SVL employs 41 people and has worked alongside FourNet for nearly a decade. The two companies serve overlapping sectors, including financial services, utilities and public safety, and share technology partners such as NiCE.

For FourNet, the deal adds specialist expertise in interaction recording, analytics and workforce management, while increasing delivery capacity for customer experience projects in regulated industries. It is also expected to strengthen FourNet's position in financial services.

Over the past five years, SVL's work has expanded from those specialist areas into broader customer experience transformation and artificial intelligence projects. Its customers operate in markets where regulatory compliance, service continuity and system reliability are critical.

Richard Pennington, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FourNet, outlined the rationale for the purchase.

"We have known SVL and worked alongside its people for nearly a decade, so we know exactly what we are getting: talented specialists who provide an excellent service to organisations where services simply have to work. This acquisition is about three things: people, customers and technology. SVL's team shares our commitment to customers and culture, its customers operate in many of the same sectors as ours, and we work with the same technology partners, with complementary skills and services. Joining forces with SVL deepens capabilities FourNet already has and gives us greater capacity to help more customers transform. Organisations are now moving AI out of pilots and into everyday customer service. They need help proving its value, redesigning the customer journeys and processes around it, and implementing it safely," said Pennington.

The move reflects a broader shift in customer service operations as companies test how far AI tools can be used in day-to-day interactions, particularly in sectors facing close scrutiny over data handling, resilience and compliance.

The enlarged group will be able to help customers identify where AI could have the greatest effect, redesign customer journeys and processes, and implement systems on secure, governed infrastructure. FourNet combines consulting in customer experience and AI with cyber security and operational services.

SVL customers will continue to work with the same teams after the acquisition while gaining access to the wider FourNet organisation. The transaction also broadens FourNet's customer base in financial services, which it has identified as a growth area.

David Kindness, Chief Executive Officer of SVL Business Solutions, said: "Our customers stay with us because of our people, our expertise and the quality of service we provide. Joining FourNet protects those strengths while giving our customers a much larger team and a broader range of capabilities behind them. We have worked with FourNet for many years and share the same approach: employing specialist people, delivering excellent service and doing what is right for the customer. This gives our people greater opportunities to develop, gives our customers access to additional expertise and investment, and provides a strong platform for SVL's continued growth."

The deal continues an acquisition strategy backed by private equity investor Palatine, which has supported FourNet since 2021. Palatine described the transaction as strategically important because of the overlap in customers and technology partnerships.

"SVL represents a highly strategic acquisition for FourNet given the complementary customer base and technology partnerships. It brings specialist expertise which strengthens FourNet's customer experience transformation proposition into mission-critical sectors. This is FourNet's fifth acquisition since 2020, and we are delighted to continue to support Richard Pennington and the management team as they build a unique platform in the sector through a combination of organic growth and carefully selected acquisitions," James Painter, Partner at Palatine, said.