Netstore to close Birmingham office

Reseller to shut sales outpost as it cracks on with centralisation strategy

Managed services and security reseller Netstore has confirmed it plans to close its Birmingham office as part of its drive to unify its business.

Netstore inherited the location, which now employs fewer than 20 sales staff, through its 2005 acquisition of security reseller SSS.

Alan Edwards, marketing director at Netstore, said employees would be offered the chance to work remotely or would be relocated to its outpost in Bracknell, which Netstore is currently revamping after using it for storage for the past two years.

The office is likely to close at some stage during Netstore’s financial year, which ends in June, he added.

“We’ve made three acquisitions in the past two-and-a-half years. This is another step in the unification of those businesses,” Edwards said.

“People are increasingly mobile and working flexibly, so we don’t feel the need to invest heavily in fixed locations.”

Edwards said that operations staff at the Birmingham office had already been migrated to Gateshead and Reading.

Dave Ellis, security director at distributor Computerlinks, said: “Sometimes it’s difficult to integrate businesses if they’re under different roofs. It makes sense for Netstore to centralise staff and make use of its full corporate facilities.”