TECHNOLOGY group Onyx yesterday made its fifth acquisition in 18 months by expanding its presence in the increasing disaster recovery sector.

The Middlesbrough-based company has added London-based Disaster Recovery Solutions (DRS) to its portfolio, the latest step in Onyx’s national growth strategy and its goal to double turnover this year to £25m in spite of the recession.

The acquisition of DRS – which specialises in providing disaster recovery to smaller firms – comes after the addition of hedge fund supplier Moffat Communications last month, and three acquisitions last year – Edinburgh-based Dundas, Newcastle Computer Services and Campbell Lee, in Scotland.

Disaster recovery provision is a key growth area, with new research showing that 90 per cent of businesses which are not backed up and lose data from a disaster are forced to shut down within two years of the disruption Neil Stephenson, chief executive of Onyx Group, said: “This latest acquisition is another key piece in Onyx’s national strategy jigsaw, as we aim to create a UK wide IT footprint, providing a breadth of IT services to key target markets.

“I believe we have the agility, hunger and skills to really grow this business. The next 24 months are going to be both challenging but exciting as we look to capitalise on a gap in the market that our competitors are not able to take advantage of.”

DRS will become Onyx Business Continuity Solutions and will be headed by James Carver, previously director at DRS, who has more than 20 years experience in disaster recovery and business development