Hills leads overhaul at Trustmarque

Stuart Fenton: I can categorically state we are not interested in buying Trustmarque

Software VAR Trustmarque is drawing up plans to change its business model under the direction of interim chief executive Ken Hills.

Hills arrived from Trustmarque’s financial backer Lloyds TSB Development Group (LDC) at the beginning of November following the departure of Ross Miller (Channelweb, 10 November). He is set to unveil a revised strategy in January.

Hills told CRN: “LDC remains supportive of the business. There are no plans to sell. This will be about growing the business and getting back to the original business plan.”

Trustmarque set itself a £200m revenue goal at the time of its 2006 management buy-out (MBO), but recent financial results show the Microsoft large account reseller (LAR) has fallen short of expectations.

However, Trustmarque sales director Tim Dickens claimed the reseller is still in solid shape.
“We have just come off the back of a record year, in both sales and margin return. We were not delivering the investor value in terms of what it was thought the business might do at the time of the MBO.”

Meanwhile, Stuart Fenton, chief executive at Insight Enterprises, denied the corporate reseller was interested in buying Trustmarque.

“I can categorically state this is untrue. We are focused on our own business and our recent acquisitions,” Fenton said.
Steve Reynolds, managing director of LAR Civica Direct, said: “Every LAR is looking to see how their direction might change now and whether or not they can get someone who knows the industry at the helm.”