CRN Top VARs 2014 - Sheffield reseller Millgate shows its steel
Another peek behind the curtains of our annual research sees reseller soar up the rankings after stellar 2014
Sheffield VAR Millgate Computers is one of the major movers in the rankings of CRN Top VARs 2014, after growing its top and bottom lines by upwards of 20 per cent in FY14.
For the year to the end of July, the reseller, which partners with vendors including HP, Dell, Lenovo, Cisco, and Microsoft, increased its revenue 21.6 per cent to £32.6m. Pre-tax profit also enjoyed a healthy spike, shooting up 26.6 per cent to £1m.
Developments since the close of the year include the expansion of the firm's ChannelGate recruitment business, and the addition of nine budding sales staff for its first sales academy.
The FY14 expansion has allowed the company to soar up this year's leader board of the UK's 100 biggest channel players by revenue. Managing director Chris Calvert (pictured below) talked us through a stellar year for his firm, and outlined his growth plans for the coming years.
CRN: What were some of FY14's big growth areas?
Chris Calvert: We work with HP and Microsoft, and that has seen some fantastic growth. There is still masses and masses of potential on licence renewals.
What do you see as your KPIs?
Obviously, at the end of the day, it is the bottom line that counts. But since CRN has been doing this top 100 that has given us some focus. We once heard that there were 15,000 resellers in the UK and, being based in Sheffield, we never would have thought we were in the top 100. So this has given us the focus to go and grow the revenue - but it is not the be-all and end-all.
Have you ever thought of opening another location in the UK?
Last time we did an analysis, 40 per cent of our business was within the M25 anyway. If we opened another office, the senior management would have to split its time between the two, and the last thing we want is to lose focus. I am certain we could grow to £70m or £80m from here, and we have bought the building next door.
Have you considered making an acquisition?
It is a difficult one; there have been companies locally that we could have acquired, but there is some pain you go through when making an acquisition. I have worked for a lot of resellers and seen what they did wrong. We have a fantastic team here and I really want to look after them, which is why I want to shy away from the M&A route.
To find out exactly where Millgate - and 99 of its rivals - placed in our annual rundown of the country's 100 biggest resellers by revenue, read CRN Top VARs 2014, which is published on Monday.
Look out for more snippets from our research for the rest of this week. Get in touch to share your thoughts with us via phone, email, online comment, or on Twitter, using the hashtag #CRNTopVARs.