Chepstow-based TXO, a global leader in end-to-end sustainable technology lifecycle solutions, has acquired Canadian firm Wesbell Communications. Wesbell, a technology solutions provider, supports tier one telecoms operators, hyperscalers and data centre customers with network and engineering services, managed services, asset recovery, and third-party maintenance.
The acquisition, whose value has not been disclosed, forms part of TXO’s growth strategy, combining organic growth with targeted acquisitions of innovative technology-led businesses. The deal brings together Wesbell’s established tier one customer relationships, solutions capability, and additional processing capacity with TXO’s global reach, expanding the range and scale of services available to customers worldwide.
Leadership comments on TXO-Wesbell deal
Oliver Lemanski, chief executive of TXO, whose international expansion is supported by private equity firm TowerBrook Delta after it acquired a majority stake in 2023, said: “Wesbell is an exceptional business with great people, deep technical expertise and capabilities that complement TXO extremely well. This acquisition is about much more than expanding our footprint. It broadens our end-to-end technology lifecycle offering, adding expertise and capacity to enhance the solutions we already deliver for customers across the globe.”
Dave Rose, chief executive of Wesbell Communications, said: “Joining TXO is an exciting next chapter for Wesbell. We are incredibly proud of what our people have built, the technical expertise within our team and the trust we’ve earned by solving complex challenges for our customers. Together, we have a real opportunity to invest in our people and capabilities, offer more to our existing customers, and bring Wesbell’s expertise to customers across the TXO Group worldwide.”
Cardo Group completes Aspect acquisition
Cardiff-based Cardo Group has completed the acquisition of Aspect Group Services, a roofing, renewables and building maintenance specialist headquartered in Wymondham, Norfolk. Founded in 1972, Aspect Group Services began as a roofing contractor and has since grown into a leading provider for pitched and flat roofing, property maintenance, and renewable energy solutions. It operates in the private, commercial, and public sectors, delivering projects from minor repairs and maintenance to major improvement programmes.
This latest acquisition further strengthens Cardo Group’s growing presence across the UK, adding broader, planned and responsive building maintenance and renewables capability to the group’s national service offering. Matt Dillon, managing director of Aspect Group Services, said: “This partnership will allow us to build on our heritage, strengthen the services we provide and create new opportunities for our staff and suppliers, while continuing to provide the responsive, high-quality, trusted service our customers and partners expect, supported by the additional investment, capability and expertise of the wider Cardo Group.”
Liam Bevan, chief executive of Cardo Group, said: “Aspect Group Services is a strong addition to Cardo Group, bringing highly regarded expertise across roofing and building maintenance and its track record as a leading provider of property services in East Anglia.”
LDC exits Vista Technology Support
Private equity investor LDC has exited its investment in Vista Technology Support (Vista) to US firm TRG, a global managed services provider focused on the full lifecycle of enterprise endpoints. The transaction follows a nine-year investment period for LDC in the company, during which revenues doubled from £17m to £44m and headcount increased from 200 to 432. LDC would not disclose the value of its equity investment and the return from its exit.
Cardiff-based Vista is a specialist technology managed services provider operating in trading environments, including retail, hospitality and healthcare. Founded in 1995, the business is a partner to more than 100 businesses across the UK and Ireland, with a customer base that includes fast-growing supermarkets, the world’s largest restaurant chain and many well-known brands. LDC invested in Vista in October 2017 to help accelerate the business’ organic and acquisitive growth strategy.
In July 2024, Vista acquired Store Computer Technology (SCT), further strengthening its retail and hospitality support capabilities in Ireland and Europe. A year later, Vista opened a new warehouse, staging facility and service desk in Dublin, and has since attracted new customers seeking a consistent service model across the UK and Ireland. The exit was led by LDC’s Wales and south west of England team, headed by partner Dewi Hughes, with investment manager Vera Kuehne playing a leading role.
James Pepper, chief executive of Vista, said: “When we started this journey, our ambition was to become the go-to technology partner for retail and hospitality businesses. We have achieved that and more. Our customers trust us to support their technology strategies and provide valuable expertise to address their challenges.” Mr Hughes, who heads up LDC in Wales and the south west of England, said: “Vista is a great example of what can be achieved in partnership with strong leadership and a clear vision. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the team and wish them the best of luck in the next phase of their journey with TRG.”
Reclinker secures £10m; Finchetto starts PIC programme
Bridgend firm Reclinker is poised to commercialise its low carbon technology that turns demolition waste into new cement after securing £10m in an oversubscribed series A equity round. Reclinker is looking to scale to full production after the success of industrial trials with 7 Steel UK in Cardiff. The process has been demonstrated through multiple industrial-scale trials at 7 Steel’s electric arc operation, and Reclinker has already made its first commercial sales.
The round was co-led by climate tech investors Clean Growth Fund and AP Ventures, with further participation from the Development Bank of Wales and existing investors including Zero Carbon Capital, Kibo Invest and Cambridge Enterprise. Reclinker’s technology, developed at the University of Cambridge, recovers cement paste from construction demolition and turns it back into clinker inside the electric arc furnaces already used to recycle steel. The new funding will support production in Cardiff towards 120,000 tonnes per year and help replicate the model across additional electric arc furnace facilities in Europe and the US.
Bill Yost, chief executive of Reclinker, said: “We are thrilled to have received backing from both our existing and incoming investors. This oversubscribed round sends a strong signal that UK investors are serious about decarbonisation. We are particularly glad this investment will support the growth of green industries in Wales.”
Finchetto, which is developing the world’s first fully optical packet switch for energy-efficient AI, has commenced a ten-month programme of work to establish a manufacturing process for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The work will be undertaken by Cardiff University’s Sbarc/Spark innovation building. The company secured a grant through the Investor Partnerships Programme, alongside private investment from Development Bank of Wales, enabling it to utilise Cardiff University’s Institute for Compound Semiconductors cleanrooms.
The company will develop thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonics integrated circuits to carry its patented fully optical packet switching technology, capable of greatly reducing latency by 700x and power by 20x compared with traditional electro-optical network switches. Finchetto already has an established office in Cardiff, in addition to an office and lab in Guildford, Surrey, and has continued to hire in the area. The Development Bank of Wales has an equity stake in the business.
Chief executive and co-founder of Finchetto Mark Rushworth said: “This programme takes our fully passive optical networking technology towards a manufacturable product and builds upon the UK’s strong photonics manufacturing capabilities at the same time. Photonics is emerging as a pathway to radically more efficient AI and data communications; sovereign capacity will be crucial if the UK is to compete, and we’re delighted to be contributing to that.”
Jack Christopher, senior investment executive at the Development Bank of Wales, said: “Wales has strong capabilities in compound semiconductors and photonics, which is why we’re delighted to support Finchetto’s work at Cardiff University. Bringing specialist process engineering to Cardiff will strengthen the region’s competitiveness and deepen the growing cluster of photonics innovation.”
