AO acquires Affordable Mobiles and buymobiles.net

Following appointment of administrators earlier this month, AO have acquired assets of Derbyshire based A1 Comms for £2.2 million, saving 73 jobs in the process.

The deal sees AO securing brand IP for Affordable Mobiles, buymobiles.net, Phones.co.uk and Mobileshop.com - the latter of which offered phone contracts exclusively via Samsung’s website.

The acquired websites have already been updated to reflect AO’s new ownership, with revised logos and footnotes.

AO previously purchased Mobile Phones Direct for £38.1 million in late 2018, a competing company which also sells phone contracts online.

A1 Comms paused all trading during the appointment of administrators earlier this month, including for the latest phones such as the iPhone 15. However, trading has now resumed following acquisition, with all orders now being fulfilled by AO’s subsidiary brand, Mobile Phones Direct.