Ramesys chalks up £9m in school deals

Education reseller on BSF roll

Chambers: there are a lot of BSF contracts up for grabs

VAR Ramesys has got off to a flying start in 2010, securing a further £9m worth of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contracts.

The latest signings, in Greenwich and Rochdale, bring the total value of the firm’s BSF IT contracts to more than £120m, with predicted follow-on waves expected to rake in around £230m of new business.

Mark Chambers, chief executive of Ramesys, said 2009 had been a good year.

“We hit £39m turnover, which was up on the previous year,” Chambers said. “Before Christmas we had taken on 70 new people and are expecting to do a similar thing in 2010. We are expecting £50m turnover this year.”

Chambers added that the latest contracts are mainly due to be fulfilled in 2011.

“There are a lot of BSF contracts up for grabs as authorities rush to beat the election uncertainty,” he said. “We have identified about 20 active contracts to bid for in 2010.”

Chambers added he was unconcerned about new arrivals on the BSF scene.

“It is a two to 2.5-year bidding process and there are a lot of established players,” he said. “We do not see a brand-new entrant coming into the market unless it is through acquisition or partnering.”