Kelway closes Equanet buy and confirms new north west hub

London VAR to find new regional HQ in Greater Manchester after finalising buyout

Kelway has confirmed that it will be opening a new north-west hub in Greater Manchester after closing the buyout of Equanet.

An announcement issued today outlines that all Equanet systems, as well as customer service and technical teams, have been integrated into the Kelway operation. The formerly Dixons-owned VAR brings with it the ServiceTrack e-commerce platform, which will be melded into Kelway's order management system to create what the London VAR characterises as "the most comprehensive e-commerce and procurement system in the market".

Shortly after the buyout was agreed last month, Kelway managing director Dan Laws told CRN that the firm had already found a new office in Hemel Hempstead for the 20-plus Equanet staff based in the Hertfordshire town. He also revealed that the firm was considering setting up a new regional office in the Greater Manchester area to house staff from Equanet's Bury digs.

The company today confirmed that it will be setting up a new north-west base "in the Greater Manchester area", an area which covers the city of Manchester itself, as well as Equanet's hometown of Bury and other towns including Bolton, Wigan, Rochdale and Stockport. Laws (pictured) explained last month that his firm has up to six months to settle on a new base, adding that Kelway has no plans to shut existing north-west operations in Runcorn.

"We are delighted to complete the acquisition of Equanet," he said in today's statement. "In the short-time we have been working together, Equanet's team has already proven impressive and is a good fit within the Kelway Group."

Kelway added that it believes the deal will boost its standing in the software licensing space, with both parties possessing Microsoft Large Account Reseller status. The coming weeks and months will see "a new software offering being created" by the newly joined companies.