Shift F7 looks to acquire on back of record year

VAR sees turnover grow 25 per cent for FY 2011/12 and is planning more aggressive growth

VAR Shift F7 is eyeing up potential acquisition targets after achieving a 25 per cent growth in turnover for the financial year 2011/12.

The Surrey-based firm, which counts HP and NetApp among its vendor partners, saw turnover hit £10.6m for the year, but was unable to supply profit figures for the period due to being a private company.

Managing director Garry King explained that the firm was recruiting extra headcount, and is keen to buy a managed services player in the coming financial year as it aims for double-digit growth in this time period.

“We have a couple of strategic partners that have helped us greatly this year. Our growth has come from not talking about one vendor, but listening to what the customer project pipeline is about and then delivering on that,” he said, adding that the success, combined with tight internal cost controls, had helped with the VAR’s record results.

“We battened down the hatches over the past couple of years,” he said. “But we are now starting to enjoy the results of all the hard work. We are in a very positive frame of mind and are on the lookout for acquisitions.”

He added that despite the sales cycle being longer, customers were still spending money. The VAR is also collaborating more with other suppliers so it can deliver a complete end-to-end solution to customers and is bolstering its own managed services offering – the latest service being its Operational Expense Management Service (OPEX) – which helps firms consolidate supplier databases and identify and negotiate with new suppliers.

King said: “The initial success of our OPEX managed service will continue to contribute significantly to our growth in the future. With the growing numbers of satisfied customers and our services being recommended elsewhere, we anticipate further growth for the forthcoming year for both our enterprise and mid-market teams.”