Wylie looks for growth

Sage co-founder acquires northern reseller as part of expansion plans

Sage co-founder Graham Wiley has taken another step towards turning his Technology Services Group (TSG) into a 'super reseller', with his second acquisition in three months.

Since October Wylie has been on a mission to grow through acquisition, and he has now purchased two accountancy software VARs for undisclosed sums (CRN, 3 November 2003).

Teeside's CPA Systems joins Newcastle-based Joynson, an earlier acquisition by Wylie, in expanding TSG's reach in the North-East. "We knew we would also require a presence on Teeside," Wylie said in a statement. "Local businesses require local service and we need to be where our customers are."

Through the Joynson acquisition TSG gained an 800-strong customer base, and partnerships with vendors such as Sage, Pegasus and Citrix. CPA had more than 1,500 customers and resold products from Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM, as well as Pegasus and Sage.

Channel talk is rife with rumours about plans for TSG to move further afield for acquisitions. But Duncan Wyeth, sales and marketing manager at Sage reseller Serion Logic, said he does not expect a challenge.

"The fact that Wylie was the co-founder of Sage does not mean he will make a good reseller," he said. "His name is not well-known among customers."