Softcat versus Computacenter: Market valuations reach parity

Softcat's market capitalisation has risen to over £1.3bn, on a par with outgoing CEO Martin Hellawell's former employer Computacenter

Softcat's market value has shot up to hit parity with larger rival Computacenter on the eve of long-standing CEO Martin Hellawell's retirement from the role.

At the time of writing, Softcat's market capitalisation stands at £1.34bn, compared with £1.32bn for Computacenter.

Hellawell worked under Computacenter CEO Mike Norris during his tenure at the Hatfield-based reseller between 1990 and 2002, and the two firms are now ranked one and two in CRN Top VARs.

Having joined Softcat as CEO in 2006, Hellawell is stepping back to the non-executive chairman role next week to make way for his chosen successor Graeme Watt.

Yesterday, Hellawell and associated people sold 1.8m ordinary shares in Softcat worth about £11.3m.

He and those close to him still hold nearly 13 million ordinary shares, representing 6.6 per cent of Softcat's issued share capital.

Softcat's revenue run rate is heading towards the £1bn mark, with its recently posted interim results showing 1H 2018 revenues powering up 25 per cent to £472.8m.

Its shares have more than doubled since it listed on the LSE in November 2015.

Despite their comparable market valuations, Softcat is smaller than Computacenter in almost every respect, as the below head to head shows: