Stone Group shakes on HM Treasury deal

Building up: Stone's latest public sector contract is part of its aggressive growth drive

Stone Group has secured a multi-million pound deal to supply IT hardware to government department HM Treasury.

The deal, known as ‘Lot 5’ under the IT Equipment and Solutions framework was won through an e-Auction – also known as a reverse auction – run by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). It has a potential value of £4m for Stone, which will supply its own brand desktops, Toshiba laptops and Samsung monitors to the Treasury under the contract.

Public sector bodies such as NHS Trusts, police authorities and a number of councils, take part in the programme facilitated by OGC, which gives them over 10 per cent savings on IT purchases as a result of collective buying power. The OGC is planning to save the public sector up to £270m by the end of 2011/12 through the e-Auction process.

James Bird, chief executive of Stone Group, said: “Our success in the most recent OGC e-Auction is an important step towards consolidating Stone Group’s position as a leader in the public sector. We are delighted that Stone Group has been able to put forward an attractive package for ESPO, which balances price with service delivery and expertise.”

He added that the contract further boosts its aggressive growth plans.

“As well as being awarded supplier status for the Home Access Scheme and Buying Solutions, we are currently working on a number of large projects across the public sector. We have also committed to moving to extensive new premises later this year, including new manufacturing facilities that will treble our output capacity,” he said. “This move is part of a significant growth and recruitment drive, which will allow us to meet our self-imposed growth targets of 30 per cent for this financial year.”