Agresso makes direct move on Ampersand

Financial software firm Agresso is to buy its reseller, Ampersand Systems, as part of a move to sell direct. The financial terms of the deal have yet to be finalised.

The acquisition leaves Agresso with Fraser Williams Financial Systems as its sole remaining reseller.

Ian Williamson, MD of Fraser Williams, claimed the change in vendor strategy would cause few problems. ?From time to time we will trip over each other, but we target slightly different markets and, providing the channels are managed properly, it?ll be better because Agresso will be stronger,? he said.

Norwegian-owned Agresso will transfer its five UK staff, based in Reading, to Ampersand?s office in Bristol, creating a 50-strong UK operation.

Ex-Ampersand MD John Crooks will run Agresso?s UK operation, while former Agresso UK MD Kai Moller has moved to head the vendor?s US site.

There will be no redundancies, according to Rory Forbes, partner manager of Agresso. ?We wanted to develop our UK presence. We are aware of the perception of competition by going direct, but if we went up against Fraser Williams, it would end up being at the expense of ourselves, so we don?t want to do that.

?We will continue to work closely with them. This acquisition will help us give dealers more support,? he said.

Agresso?s competitors include Oracle, SAP and Lawson Software. It started up its UK subsidiary at the beginning of last year and has a turnover of #5 million worldwide. It is seeking additional dealers to cover vertical market sectors.

Ampersand made #3.6 million in sales last year.