Radius joins Civica circle
Public-sector application expert acquired by service provider
IT service provider Civica Group has bolstered its public-sector business with its first acquisition since its initial public offering.
The firm has paid £14m for public-sector back-office application expert Radius Computing to add complementary products and services to its portfolio.
Since its AIM listing in March, Civica has had the funds to grow its product offering and customer base. For the firm's financial year ended September 2003, it turned over £90.3m and recorded a profit of £9.1m.
Tim Magness, marketing director at Civica Group, said: "One of the reasons for floating was to look for complementary businesses that will strengthen our position in core markets."
He added that Radius's expertise in back-office financial systems fits comfortably with the Civica Systems software and services arm.
"There is very little overlap, and it broadens our reach in the marketplace," Magness said.
Civica and Radius boast more than 400 local government customers between them.
Magness predicted consolidation among IT suppliers, but he added: "There is still a lot of spending to come, revolving around integrating systems and joining up government."
George Sanger, head of sales and marketing at reseller Knowledge IT, said: "This seems a good move for Civica. It will increase its local government customer base by 100 per cent."