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Itec on expansion trail


Johannesburg, 25 Feb 2010

Itec is looking for at least another five acquisitions in the UK, after moving into the country through buying stakes in two independent UK companies, Portrayal and Peninsula Business Systems.

Southern Africa's third largest office automation company has completed the first step of its international expansion strategy by acquiring the stakes for an undisclosed amount.

Portrayal and Peninsula Business Systems will be merged by April under the name Portrayal, and wants to expand into London and South Wales. The merged unit will be the largest independent office automation supplier in the region.

Itec CEO Philip Perkins says the group aims to take its UK operations from one, to six. However, it has not set itself any timeframes in which to do this.

He explains that the company canvassed in the UK for over a year before making its recent purchases. Itec has been planning to expand internationally for about three years.

“The UK market is one of the easier markets for us to expand into; trading practices, travel links, culture and the similar time zones are complementary. Also, the market operates in very similar ways to ours,” Perkins says.

“So when it became clear that Portrayal and Peninsula were open to the idea of a merger and we saw just how dynamic the management teams were, we jumped at the chance to buy in.” Perkins explains that the potential market in the UK is five or six times the size of the local market.

Perkins says the deal enables integration of products and service delivery across both markets, which will provide the South African and UK businesses with generous cost savings. “In addition, there will be knowledge transfer between the UK and SA.”

Itec UK has established a head office in London from where it will explore further international opportunities. The office will be staffed largely by employees of the South African Itec business.

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