A near-death experience was the catalyst for Ian Hudson to try to create a business with a turnover of £100m.
The entrepreneur is the founder of IT support provider commited and was recently included in BusinessCloud’s inaugural Founder 250 list.
After 20 years of growth and the successful acquisition of 14 businesses, the company has increased its turnover to £25m and recently rebranded from Hudson Hill Consulting.
Hudson is all about new beginnings and admits that it is a miracle he is here at all.
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In 2019, he collapsed with Covid – before it had been declared a pandemic and the world went into lockdown.
He spent three weeks in intensive care, and his family was advised to say their goodbyes – but Hudson had other ideas.
After recovering from Covid, he took 18 months off before realising retirement was not for him and set out his stall to build a business with a turnover of £100m.
As part of the strategy, Hudson Hill Consulting rebranded as commited, which is now the North’s largest privately-owned IT services provider for SMEs and educational establishments.
The company has grown to serve 2,500 customers, generate £25m in revenue and operate six offices across the North West, Cumbria and West Yorkshire.
Reflecting on his brush with death in 2019, Hudson recalled: “I got Covid before most of the world knew what Covid was!
“I’d travelled to New York, and when I returned to the UK, I started to get flu-like symptoms. The next thing I knew, I had collapsed at home and was spending three weeks in intensive care.
“It didn’t look good for a while, and my family was advised to say their goodbyes. Thankfully, I was one of the lucky ones and managed to come out the other side.”
Hudson flirted with retirement but, after 18 months away from work, decided it was not for him.
“I missed work,” he admitted. “Lots of customers are also my friends, and after being given a second chance at life, I wanted to throw everything at it. I came back fully energised and raring to go again.
“After nearly dying, it made me focus on living in the moment and enjoying every minute.
“My philosophy was to shoot for the stars and change lots of people’s lives in the process.”
Hudson’s ambition is to grow the business to a turnover of £100m and employ between 250 and 300 people.
He has not ruled out adding to his 14 previous acquisitions.
Ian Hudson, commited (rebranded from Hudson Hill Consulting)
Hudson said: “We’ve got £7m in dry powder to make further acquisitions if the right opportunities come along.”
Until recently, commited’s growth had been largely bootstrapped, but the company is now backed by Shawbrook.
Explaining the reason for the rebrand to commited, Hudson said: “Our new name reflects our dedication to everything we do and the culture that supports it.
“We understand the pressures squeezing businesses. IT is a growth lever, yet complexity and a lack of IT skills are barriers.
“Equally, the growing risk of a security breach is real, while cost control in a volatile economy is critical.
“We speak the language of business and help clients address these challenges head-on.
“We’ve seen first-hand that SMEs and schools in the North are being underserved by the current IT market.
“On one side, PE-backed national providers lack genuinely local service; on the other, small, hyperlocal Managed Service Providers (MSPs) or ‘one-man bands’ are stretched. commited bridges that gap.
“I know I’ve been given a second chance at life, and I’m determined to make it count.”
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