Iomart looks to £20m goal

WEBSITE hosting firm Iomart is expected to make further acquisitions and double its profits to £20 million by 2014, according to the Glasgow-based company’s house broker.

The firm, which is due to report its full-year results on Tuesday, has been on a buying spree in recent years, snapping up rivals including EQSN, Global Gold and Switch Media.

Analysts at Peel Hunt believe there are more takeovers to come, which will help to push up the firm’s profits.

In March, chief executive Angus MacSween, who founded the firm in 1998 alongside his brother-in-law Bill Dobbie – who has since gone on to launch fast-growing Edinburgh-based dating website operator Cupid – revealed that profits for the year to 31 March will hit at least £11m, having jumped from £3.1m in 2010 to £6.6m in 2011.

Jonathan Imlah, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, added: “We would be surprised not to see further infill acquisitions from Iomart in the next few months; if the company’s track record is anything to go by, these should be materially accretive.”

This week’s results may also reignite talk of Iomart becoming a takeover target itself, rumours that were stoked by March’s trading update when Mick Gilligan, head of research at Killik & Co, highlighted how popular the Scottish firm could be to larger rivals.