A HORWICH business which recently claimed a prestigious award has been bought by a Birmingham based communications firm.

Imerja, which is based in Paragon Business Park, has been acquired by Intercity Technology Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

Ian Jackson, the managing director of Imerja, was nominated for the business person of the year award at the Bolton and Bury Business Awards, and his firm took home the coveted business of the year gong.

Bosses have pledged that all of the jobs at Imerja's Horwich base will be retained following the deal.

Intercity trades across the UK and Europe, and has been at the forefront of the mobile and unified communications industry since it was established 30 years ago.

Bosses at the firm said Imerja will add "considerable depth to Intercity’s service offering, enabling the enlarged business to provide a full suite of complex and secure communications and IT services to its customers".

Mr Jackson started out aged 16 as an engineering apprentice, before eventually moving to the IT department of Knowsley Council where he was later promoted to technical lead.

After moving into the commercial sector, he and his colleagues Matt Johnson and Mark Evans decided to start their own company, and established Imerja in 2004, also opening offices in Hertfordshire and Leicestershire.

Mr Jackson said: "Imerja has established itself as a reliable and trusted partner to the customers we serve.

"Our ability to provide a range of infrastructure and security services into the public and private sector is the envy of the industry and is all thanks to the commitment of everyone who works within the business.

"Being part of Intercity Technology will provide us with range of mobility and communications solutions to sit alongside our existing IT services, we are extremely excited to be a part of the Intercity Technology business."

Andrew Jackson, chief executive officer of Intercity, said: "I’m delighted to welcome Imerja to the Intercity Technology family.

"Imerja brings a deep expertise in IT managed services and security, which allows us to offer our customers complete technology solutions across IT and telecoms.

"There is a strong cultural fit between our businesses and like us they focus on service excellence and technical knowledge to differentiate in the market."