91 K3 Business Technology

Revenue: £48.8m (-3%)

Net profit: -43.3% Staff: 473

New CEO Marco Vergani is currently undergoing a "thorough evaluation" of K3's operations and strategy after net losses widened to £21.1m in its year to 30 November 2020. The AIM-listed software provider has ploughed on with a non-core disposal strategy in 2021, offloading its Sage business for £1.68m in February and ‘Starcom' MSP arm for £14.7m in September. H2 2021 revenues were flat at £23.2m, with sales of its own IP - including K3|fashion ERP offering - generating £8.4m of the total.

Covid impact

K3 said sales of third-party products - including its jettisoned Sage arm - have been more badly blown off course by the pandemic than its own, more strategically important, IP. Some distribution and retail customers retrenched during lockdown, it admitted.