Bailey Abbott acquires Perth data company Lime Theory as part of national expansion

Backed by a multimillion-dollar war chest, Adelaide IT consultancy Bailey Abbott has made its first foray interstate as part of a major expansion plan.

Bailey Abbott chief executive and founder Tom Carlton. Picture: Supplied by Bailey Abbott

Backed by a multimillion-dollar war chest, digital transformation and data intelligence consultancy Bailey Abbott has made its first foray interstate as part of a plan to expand its footprint into new markets interstate.

Perth-based business intelligence firm Lime Theory will join the Adelaide-based group, which has rapidly grown to more than 100 consultants since it was established with just three employees during the early stages of Covid-19.

A group of existing shareholders, staff and high net worth investors recently injected fresh capital into the group, which founder and chief executive Tom Carlton said provided a platform for further growth into new markets.

“We’ve done a couple of capital raises over the years, and it’s been one of the things that we’ve done very well in terms of allowing us to grow and scale quickly,” he said.

“We’ve just completed a fairly significant one, and that is part of our ‘go to market’ for the next two years, in terms of driving some of that M&A activity.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of the South Australian-owned mid-market has been bought up – Chamonix, Exposé, Nuago all got bought this financial year.

“For us, we’re conscious that we don’t want to be acquired – we want to be bringing businesses into the group.”

Bailey Abbott chief executive and founder Tom Carlton, left, with Bailey Abbott WA managing director Glen Appleton. Picture: Supplied by Bailey Abbott

After spending most of his career in the telecommunications industry, Mr Carlton launched Bailey Abbott in 2020, identifying a “massive opportunity” to provide the IT transformation services needed to support businesses through the pandemic.

“I saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, in terms of that (Covid-19) would be a massive driver of IT transformation, and so I quit my job, got a bunch of people who were out of work due to Covid-19, raised a fairly significant amount of cash and set up the Bailey Abbott business,” he said.

“Everybody was saying it’s doom and gloom, but for me I saw this as one of the key disruption opportunities in my lifetime.”

Mr Carlton said the first few months were a challenge, but then the business took off from early 2021 when businesses started to gain an understanding of the critical role IT upgrades and digital transformation would play in dealing with the pandemic.

The Bailey Abbott group, which includes specialist cybersecurity firm Bastion Technology Services and consulting firm Digivate Health, currently services more than 60 clients across the private and government sectors.

Following the first phase of growth fuelled by the pandemic, Mr Carlton said the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence was now generating a new wave of growth for the firm, as clients were increasingly seeking guidance on how to leverage AI to drive efficiency, innovation and competitive advantage.

“The compliance and governance piece is huge,” he said.

“What we’re also seeing is a lot of businesses are actually already using AI, they just don’t necessarily know it – but all of their staff are using AI in a whole lot of various forms.

“It’s actually trying to put some level of control, compliance and governance layer across the use of AI in organisations.”

Mr Carlton said Bailey Abbott operated in a sweet spot between the big four consulting firms and the “microbusiness” firms.

“There’s not too many people that just sit at the right size at the top of the Tier 2s in the state, and that’s really what we want to go and build,” he said.

“Obviously the Lime Theory business has joined the group, and we’ve got another seven or eight of these lined up over the next two years that we’d like to go and execute on.

“NT and Tassie are two that we’re having a look at. We see those markets as very similar to how we operate here in South Australia, where you can build really good relationships with your client base, and if something goes wrong they can pick up the phone and talk to the owner.”