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Burges Salmon advises Ultima on landmark £1bn merger with Trustmarque

By Charles Claisse Martin Davidson

5 Nov 2025 2 min read

The Corporate and M&A team from independent UK law firm Burges Salmon has advised the Ultima group on its merger with the Trustmarque group, creating one of the UK’s largest IT services providers with a combined gross invoiced income approaching £1 billion and a workforce of more than 1,000 employees.

The merger brings together two leading technology businesses with complementary strengths in managed services, automation, cloud and digital transformation. The newly formed group will serve over 3,000 customers across seven UK and international locations, offering a comprehensive portfolio of services spanning public and private sectors.

Ultima, headquartered in Reading and backed by Apse Capital, is renowned for its corporate managed services and AI-driven offerings through its Ultima Labs unit. Trustmarque, based in York and supported by One Equity Partners, has a strong presence in the public sector and longstanding partnerships with Microsoft and Cisco.

The Burges Salmon team, led by partner Charles Claisse, senior associate Martin Davidson and director Amy Moriarty, advised Ultima on all legal aspects of the transaction, which completed on 31 October 2025 following an earlier signing announcement.

“This deal represents a significant milestone for our Corporate and M&A team, and we are proud to have supported Ultima in bringing together two dynamic businesses with a shared vision for innovation and growth.”

Charles Claisse, partner

“The merger with Trustmarque marks a new chapter for Ultima. With aligned values and complementary capabilities, we are excited to deliver even greater value to our clients and partners. We’re grateful to the Burges Salmon team for their outstanding support throughout the process. Their expertise, responsiveness and commercial insight have been instrumental in helping us achieve this successful outcome.”

Vikram Krishna, Apse Capital

The merger has been structured to preserve the strengths of both organisations, with leadership drawn from each. The combined entity will retain both Ultima’s Reading base and Trustmarque’s York headquarters, reflecting the geographic and operational balance of the new group.

Burges Salmon’s involvement in this landmark transaction underscores the firm’s continued role in advising on complex, high-value corporate deals across the UK technology sector.