Hazlewoods Corporate Finance team has advised on the successful £18.1 million management buyout of Smart Numbers Ltd, a market leading telecoms and digital marketing business.

Smart Numbers, which has helped thousands of small business owners grow their companies by providing innovative telecom solutions and trackable marketing services, has been acquired by private equity house YFM Equity Partners.

The YFM backed buyout secures the future of this fast-growing Southampton-based communications company, setting it up for unprecedented growth.

Scott Woolaway, who founded Smart Numbers in 2005, has been at the helm for almost two decades.

Initially, the company provided small business owners with trackable inbound phone numbers that could be placed in advertising, as well as memorable telephone numbers and call answering services.

Smart Numbers has since evolved into an Ofcom-registered telecoms reseller and Google partnered digital marketing business that combines website development and optimisation services with connectivity and telephony solutions to help boost lead generation.

Hazlewoods Corporate Finance director Rich Grover, who led the transaction, said: "Scott has been a long-standing and valued Hazlewoods client, and it has been an absolute pleasure to help him with this transaction.

"He is a dynamic and enthusiastic person who has built a successful business. Along with the whole Hazlewoods team, I look forward to seeing both the business and Scott personally achieve greater successes over the coming years."

Scott said: "Having worked with Hazlewoods for over a decade, Rich and his team were always the trusted advisors we were going to instruct.

"Rich proved to be invaluable to me, always available to answer questions, providing clear, straightforward advice and the perfect partner to lead us through the process. I wholeheartedly recommend Rich and the wider Hazlewoods team to anyone seeking corporate finance representation or selling their business."

Scott will continue to hold a significant shareholding in the business. He is committed to the future success of the company and retains a position on the board post investment as vice chairman.

The day-to-day running will be carried out by incumbent managing director Tim Hutchings, with help from existing FD Nathan Willis and the YFM team. They welcome Richard Last, former chairman of Gamma, who will chair the board.

Smart Numbers is well placed to capitalise on the impending switch-off of the UK's analogue phone network, which is due to take place at the end of 2025, as it is a leading provider of cloud-based VoIP (Voice of Internet Protocol) telephony services for small businesses.

YFM partner David Wrench said: "Smart Numbers is a very well regarded, specialist business that has dedicated itself to meeting the ever-evolving needs of its customers. We are confident that it will continue to follow a strong growth trajectory, as it helps more customers switch to cloud-based, digital telephony and reaches a wider swathe of the small business sector with its raft of expert marketing services."

Smart Numbers MD Tim Hutchings said: "With YFM's backing, our business is now ideally placed to pursue a new era of growth and to position itself as the go-to provider of lead generation support for increasing numbers of small businesses in the UK."

If you would like to find out more about the process of selling your business, contact Rich Grover at rich.grover@hazlewoods.co.uk 

For more information on Hazlewoods, visit www.hazlewoods.co.uk