Melbourne’s Screwloose IT gains foothold in Queensland with White Rook Cyber acquisition

The move gives Screwloose a base in Queensland - a market it has been eyeing for some time, while White Rook Cyber gains a foothold in the broader national market after building a significant local operation servicing government, SMEs and not-for-profit organisations.

“Having White Rook’s presence and brand in Brisbane kicks a lot of goals for us,” Screwloose general manager and co-founder Alex Niazov tells Business News Australia.

“We did have on our books a plan to open in Brisbane in 2025. There were a lot of IT companies that we were interested in but when the White Rook opportunity came around, we saw it as a much nicer fit.”

White Rook Cyber was established by experienced cyber security duo Angela Champion and William Ulyate in 2020 when the business partners initially planned to create a niche consultancy servicing Queensland.

“Demand for cyber security services is extraordinary and it is a national problem …and we always wanted to take the business nationally,” says Ulyate.

“But the demand for our services has always kept us busy here in Queensland. As part of our strategy, we had to look out and that is where Screwloose came in.

“There was no shortage of buyers from a cyber point of view. They are everywhere, but it’s the fit that was the most important thing.

“With offices in most capital cities, and with their expertise around automation, their platform and their ability to provide services on a no-contract basis, it was just extraordinary for us.”

Screwloose was founded in 2009 by Niazov and technical director Andrew Paternoster, initially as a boutique service in Melbourne. Most of its early work was for IT companies that didn’t have the time or capacity to resolve complex issues in a break-fix support capacity.

In 2012, the business transformed to become a managed service provider, a move that delivered sustainable business growth and laid the foundations for the introduction of private cloud in 2013 to compete with the emergence of majors such Microsoft Azure.

Screwloose introduced telecommunications to the business in 2016 giving the company capacity to act as a fully-fledged internet service provider, while in 2018 the company hired its first developer to create automation and in-house platforms for its clients and later as a wholesaler to other IT companies.

“I would say 2012 is when Screwloose really started and where our business scope and approach changed,” says Niazov.

The company currently has more than 1,800 clients and 32 technicians. The White Rook Cyber merger will grow its employee base to about 40 and its office footprint to include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Screwloose is merging its existing cyber security services with White Rook Cyber, which the company says will give it the resources to provide a complete cyber-security solution alongside its existing skillsets in the field.

For White Rook, Screwloose provides access to the company’s sophisticated cyber security platform that can offer clients access to a security operations centre.

“We now have the ability to provide 24/7 security operations which is fantastic,” says Ulyate.

“I have seen a lot of platforms, but this is the best of the best. We always had in our mind a resilient product service offering, but what Screwloose are offering is two years ahead of what we were thinking.

“This has given us the expertise and extra manpower to go national. As much as we like offering services in Queensland, it has always been my dream to provide our services nationally.”

Screwloose IT and White Rook Cyber will continue to trade as separate brands following the acquisition, while Champion and Ulyate will oversee the group’s cyber division.

Niazov points out that the quality of the White Rook Cyber team was a key motivator of the acquisition, including Billy Cody who is director of offensive security at White Rook Cyber.

“Billy is a legend and to have him as the offensive security director from White Rook working closely with us, that was a huge drawcard,” says Niazov.

“It means we can take the Screwloose offensive security to an entirely new level and, combined with the background of Angela and William and their reputation, honesty and respect they have for their clients, it aligns perfectly with Screwloose.”

While Screwloose initially plans to bed down the acquisition before looking at further opportunities, Niazov says the company’s improved capacity in cyber security does gives it scope to now target larger enterprises. Screwloose clients typically range from five staff to 400.

“We currently play in the that space but we’re happy to do bigger things,” says Niazov.

While the merger gives Screwloose a base in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, the company does have a strategy to expand further nationally by 2027.

“We’ve bought ourselves three years to set that up,” says Niazov.  “While we want to get (White Rook) up and running, we do have views on South Australia, Tasmania and Canberra. We may even look at New Zealand.”