Last month, Gamma moved from AIM to the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. Gamma was first admitted to AIM in October 2014, a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange aimed at small- and medium-sized growth companies, when the company was generating revenues of £173 million from a UK customer base and with 500 employees.
Andrew Belshaw, chief executive officer of Gamma, has been instrumental in guiding the company through that journey from AIM debut to the Main Market.
He has been part of the management team that oversaw that transition, with Gamma growing over the last decade into a business with annual revenue of £580 million and 2,200 employees. It has also expanded outside of the UK, with operations now in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
“I’ve been here 18 years, and I feel fortunate to have been part of Gamma’s journey over that time because Gamma keeps doing interesting things,” commented Belshaw. “I started off as finance director of the channel in 2007, before becoming CFO in 2014 around the time we floated [on AIM].
“Then three years ago, when Andrew Taylor retired, I took over as CEO. So, I’ve been there for Gamma’s evolution.”
Serendipity and strategy
That evolution from AIM to the Main Market, Belshaw explained, was “always part of the plan”. He added, “Of course you always hope that the plan comes to fruition, and we’ve been in this fortunate position as Gamma has continued to grow, and the markets we’re in have continued to grow.
“Inevitably there’s a bit of serendipity in there, but we also have a very good management team that has played a role too. And we’re hugely reliant on and thankful for our partners in the channel. Gamma has grown alongside a number of our partners.”
When asked why now for that move to the Main Market, Belshaw said, “The biggest difference between the junior market and the Main Market is around governance. As we got bigger and bigger and bigger, we were doing most of the governance that you need to be a Main Market company anyway. It made sense for us to move up.”
The company, Belshaw added, expects to be included when the Financial Times strikes its next FTSE 250 Index at the end of June.
He commented, “It’s been one hell of a journey over nearly 25 years from a small little startup in Newbury all those many years ago, through to listing on AIM 10 years ago, then listing on the Main Market. I wake up every morning feeling incredibly lucky that, for 18 years, I’ve been part of that journey as well.”
Celebrating success
This is a significant milestone for Gamma, so Belshaw and his team have worked to ensure the whole team feels included in the celebrations.
That has involved team celebrations across the company’s offices, as well as bringing everyone who played a key role along for graduation day at the London Stock Exchange including some of Gamma’s first employees. Belshaw said, “It’s lovely to be able to celebrate as one big team across the whole of Europe.”
One focus for Belshaw in recent years has been ensuring Gamma retains its unique company culture as it grows. His tenure at the helm of Gamma has been marked by its expansion into Europe, as well as making strategic appointments to put a leadership team in place that will help Gamma reach its ambitions.
He explained, “I’m trying to get that balance of homegrown talent, who can keep our culture going and understand what Gamma is about, with people from outside, who can challenge us and bring us that edge to move us forward. If you get that right, you’re in a good place.”
Of those external appointments, Belshaw said, “Bill [Castell], my CFO, has been here three years and he’s able to come in from the outside and challenge what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. We’ve also got Colin Lees, who joined us as CTO about 18 months ago from Openreach. He has phenomenal experience coming from a much larger organisation, and helping us see areas we can make improvements.”
An entrepreneurial edge
That balancing act between retaining culture and challenging customs extends to Gamma’s acquisition strategy. “One of the things we look at when we buy a business is the culture of that business,” said Belshaw.
“We’ve walked away from deals in the past because culturally we don’t align. If we’re trying to buy a business, I spend time with the CEO and the management team to see if we will work together. I ask: do you get the entrepreneurial edge we like to have? Do you strive for collective versus individual growth?”
Looking ahead, Belshaw expects Gamma to continue to grow and expand. He said, “It’s onwards and upwards. We still have a lot to do in the UK. We still have a lot of things that we need to bring to market. And we’ll continue working with our partners to help their end users.
“The industry is going through a lot of transformation – we haven’t even mentioned the letters A and I in this conversation yet – and there’s a lot coming down the track. We have technologies and solutions that we need to bring to market to help our partners and us continue to grow. Our growth trajectory should be there for a long time to come.”
This interview was included in our June 2025 print issue. You can read the magazine in full here.