CCS Media targets acquisitions
VAR looks to drive growth through complementary buy-outs
Bullish VAR CCS Media is tracking acquisition targets after claiming its turnover will top £50m this year.
Since it formed in 1983, Derbyshire-based CCS Media has grown organically. It has 10 offices and 150 employees.
Terry Betts, managing director of CCS, told CRN that the Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft and Cisco reseller wants to drive growth through acquisitions.
“Our growth has been organic, but we are now looking for complementary acquisitions,” he said. “Any acquisition we make will be a firm with a product set that we are not strong in.
“The size of the acquisition and the timescale for completion is flexible. Ideally, it will have a turnover of between £6m and £10m.”
Betts added that CCS has consistently doubled its turnover since 2002 and its turnover will be between £50m and £51m for this financial year.
“We can either deliver just a box or provide a whole solution to customers,” he said. “There is money in shifting tin, but we don’t sell on price. Too many VARs are too quick to give stock away at a low price. We’ve got 150 employees, but we are always looking to recruit experienced account managers.”
He also said that CCS has done particularity well in education, and consumables and hardware sales are going well.
Richard Btesh, director of corporate finance at VAR Chess Telecom, which has made 14 acquisitions to date, said: “Acquisitions work for us. They follow a classic consolidation model which involves acquiring smaller VARs than ourselves. When CCS makes acquisitions it will gain customer lists and then be able to service these customers.”
Btesh added that large-scale consolidation will continue in the channel over the next two years.
>> Further reading: