Services buy propels 4Front into top five

$6.1 million acquisition of Firstpoint from Stratagem advances group?s plans for expansion

Services and distribution group 4Front has swallowed computer hardware maintenance company Firstpoint, propelling it into the top five providers.

4Front has acquired all the shares of Firstpoint from parent company Stratagem Group, for $6.1 million, including the assumption of $1.4 million of inter-company debt.

Terry Burt, MD of 4Front, said the acquisition would complete 4Front?s plan to hit the $250 million turnover mark by January 1998. He said the takeover of Firstpoint was good ?from a marketing and an emotional perspective?.

Firstpoint reported a loss of #437,000 for the first half of the year, ended 28 February, and lost two high-profile maintenance contracts in six months ? AST and Commercial Union.

But Burt said there were ?some really good people there?, and that 4Front Group ?would manage it slightly better than Stratagem?. Notable contracts held by 4Front include IBM, Energis and Reuters.

Several of the two companies? offices are geographically close, and Burt hinted that there would be some closures. ?Our Northern England and Scottish offices are in close proximity, as are the main offices at Slough and Ruislip. It does imply that we?ll be looking at office closures.?

The Stockport office of Firstpoint will be relocated imminently.

Firstpoint will trade under the same name, and joint MDs Jim Stoddart and John Mills will retain their positions.

4Front was formed in 1996 by the merger of the maintenance and support businesses of Compass Computer Group and CI Support, creating 4Front Services. It also acquired storage distributor Hammer, services business Datapro and some of the interests of services firm DCS.