Ramesys goes for BSF jugular

Private equity backer LDC supports education specialist integrator in taking on rival RM in education space

Education specialist VAR Ramesys will lock horns with rival RM next year as it looks to double the number of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contracts it bids for.

To date Ramesys has won a quarter of BSF contracts, while RM has taken 35 per cent and seven other firms have won the remainder. Over the last year-and-a-half Ramesys has grabbed six local authority BSF contracts and taken three server farms live in Manchester, Nottingham and the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

The integrator has also launched BSF managed services in Manchester and Waltham Forest and completed more than 17 projects in academies and schools. Chief executive Mark Chambers said: "Clearly we wish to maintain our market share and maximise our order book for the long term. This means bidding on most of the available opportunities in future.”

The integrator has won three further contracts in 2008 to swell the value of its BSF deals to about £160m and it is shortlisted for an additional £123m in potential business. Ramesys has added 35 staff so far this year and is planning the addition of another 50 next year. The company is targeting a £50m turnover next year and is aiming to bolster that to £200m within five years.

Chambers added: "“We have had an amazing year and have surpassed all of my expectations. We have a 75 per cent bid to win ratio which means our return on our bid investment far outweighs all other competitors. The BSF programme is still in its infancy and I have the full backing from our investors to double the number of bids in order to maintain our 25 per cent market share.

"More importantly we now have an excellent track record of delivery; all of our BSF schools opened this summer on time and to budget. With our strong delivery and support model I’m confident we can now grow faster to meet the new market need.”

Private equity firm LDC backed Ramesys' management buyout three years ago. Director Andy Leach said: "Ramesys has had a great year, its BSF win rate has been very impressive and we are actively supporting them to increase their bidding rate in future. This is definitely a time to be rapidly responding to the growing market and it’s great to be involved in a business that is performing so well and which has strong revenue streams.”