Stephen Fenby

Stephen Fenby has run Midwich, the AIM-listed audio-visual (AV) distributor, since 2010, when he became managing director. A chartered accountant who spent 16 years in Deloitte’s corporate finance team, he joined Midwich as finance director in 2004 and has led its acquisition program, which has taken it into markets across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. He now carries the title of group chief executive.

UC and the UK lead the growth

After a 2025 in which adjusted profit fell and the group cut costs, Midwich returned to profit growth in the first half of 2026. In results published on 22 September, revenue rose 3.2% to £640.3m and adjusted profit before tax rose 10.3% to £10.6m. The UK grew at double digits, as did the US and Spain. Revenue from unified communications (UC) products grew by more than 30%, and pro audio, drones and networking also grew strongly.

Fenby said in the results that the group continues “to maintain or grow market share in key profitable regions”. The board is considering a share buyback.

Buying again

Midwich made no acquisitions in the half but says it has become more active in pursuing “relatively small potential transactions”. Fenby told AV Magazine he is “probably getting one business for sale a day at the moment”, and that Midwich needs to be selective because many do not fit its strategy.

Why it matters to the channel

Meeting rooms are where AV and IT distribution now overlap. UC hardware such as video bars, cameras and room systems is increasingly sold by IT resellers and MSPs alongside Microsoft Teams and Zoom licenses. A specialist AV distributor growing UC sales by more than 30% and gaining UK share means more of that business runs through a channel IT partners may not have used before.

Fenby has spent 16 years building Midwich by acquisition, and in 2026 he has it growing again in the UK and in UC, with a steady flow of businesses to buy.