Avanade agrees to buy Manchester automation firm Robiquity

Avanade said on 10 November 2026 that it has agreed to acquire Robiquity, a Manchester firm that automates routine office work for clients such as the parcel carrier Evri and Virgin Media O2. Avanade, founded by Microsoft and the consulting group Accenture, has 60,000 staff who work on Microsoft technology. The price of the deal was not disclosed by either company.

The deal has not completed. It still depends on the usual closing conditions and on regulatory approval, and Robiquity said it remains business as usual until then, with its teams still working for clients.

Robiquity’s route to a sale

Tom Gardner and Jack Rimmer founded Robiquity in 2016. It began as a plan to recruit and train people in robotic process automation (RPA). When trained people proved hard to find, the business started doing the work for customers itself, and it added consulting in 2018.

Robiquity’s work now centers on Microsoft products, including Power Platform, Copilot and Azure. Its other customers include London Stock Exchange.

At Evri, Robiquity built an app for the customer service staff who answer customers’ inquiries. It gives them a simpler screen and updates Evri’s older customer records system in the background. Robiquity’s case study says the average time staff spend on each inquiry fell from 3.5 minutes to 1 minute.

More automation projects followed, and in the program’s first year Evri spent £1m, for savings the case study puts at £9m a year.

Growth Capital Partners invested in Robiquity in July 2022. Tom Davies had become Robiquity’s chief executive in 2020, and the business had about 100 staff at the time.

By June 2026 Robiquity employed more than 170 people, from its Manchester headquarters and a team in Egypt.

In November 2026 Microsoft added Robiquity to its managed partner list, a small group of partners that get closer access to Microsoft’s technical and commercial specialists. Robiquity said the listing tells customers that Microsoft recognizes and trusts the firm.

Avanade’s reasons

Avanade said the purchase adds to its ability to help mid-sized and large clients use AI and automation. Robiquity said its clients could gain access to a wider range of expertise and resources, while it builds on the relationships it already has with them.

Chris Howarth, Avanade’s chief executive, said Robiquity had built “a team with deep Microsoft expertise”.

Davies, Robiquity’s chief executive, said: “Becoming part of Avanade will allow us to bring our expertise to more clients and markets, while building on the culture and approach that have shaped Robiquity.”