www.comms-dealer.com
Micro-P extends NEC sales push
DISTRIBUTOR Micro-P has bol- stered its expanding communica- tions arm with the appointment of Andy Clark as Field Sales Manager for NEC telephone systems. With almost 20 years industry experience under his belt Clark aims to deliver fresh opportunities to Micro-P’s extensive reseller base. Alex Lister, General Manager of Communications at Micro-P, commented: “Andy’s professional- ism and knowledge of systems and the NEC brand is second to none. This is one of our key brands as we grow throughout 2010.” Clark added: “I’m joining
Micro-P at an exciting time. It has a clear plan to invest in communi-
Andy Clark
cations in all its forms and bring new opportunities to its dealers and resellers. Gerry O’Keeffe, MD, Micro-
P, added: “We continue to invest heavily in building our communi- cations team and recruiting indi- viduals with the knowledge and experience of Andy’s calibre.”
Continued from page 1
will have little short-term impact on UK resellers, Smythe observed. “But they can look forward to positive benefits in the long-term,” he added. The new entity will be known
as LG-Ericsson and remains head- quartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea. It’s stated aim is to become one of the major global converged voice and data manufacturers, leveraging its international distrib- utors’ local knowledge and channel management. The purchase price of $242m is on a cash and debt free basis and there are no plans to reduce the company’s 1300 strong workforce. The transaction is subject to cus- tomary regulatory approvals. In 2009, LG-Nortel generated
approximately $650m of sales. Yong Nam, Vice Chairman and
CEO of LG Electronics, comment- ed: “Ericsson will provide global industry experience and technical expertise that will benefit both cus- tomers and employees. “We look forward to a fruitful
future collaboration.”
NEWS
Solution VARs ride out the recession
EUROPEAN Solution VARs have recorded strong year, proving resil- ient in the face of heavy recession- ary pressures. In 2009 revenues for the top
500 European Solution VARs, which between them employed 146,650 staff, increased by 7% to €26.94bn ($37.55bn). But beneath the overall growth numbers there has been a consider- able degree of structural change with high rates of consolidation and a number of business failures. These are among the findings
from ‘Solution VARs in Europe – The Top 500’, the latest database report from IT Europa. The report, which provides detailed business profiles of each of the top 500 European Solution VARs, provides evidence that it is solutions rather than hardware that is driving IT sales in Europe. Revenues were up in 24 of the 32 countries represented within
the report, with Denmark the best performer followed by Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Italy. Only seven countries showed a decline in revenues with Ireland worse hit (-20.63%), followed by Sweden, Croatia, France, Lithuania, Greece and Norway. The region’s largest markets,
Germany and the UK, showed revenue increases of 5.96% and 5.66% respectively. IT Europa’s Research Manager,
Auri Aittokallio, stated: “Solution VARs see their biggest strength in being able to act as a one stop IT provider for customers who are bat- tling ever-increasing constraints in terms of time and resource. “The overall increase in staff numbers among the top 500 Solution VARs, up 27,591 (19%) over the last four years, reflects the increasing importance of services within this sector.”
Knight warns of hike in Capital Gains Tax
M&A specialist Knight Corporate Finance has warned that a hike in Capital Gains Tax looks inevitable following the election.
NODE4 has extended its sponsorship of the Motorpoint Yamaha team into the 2010/2011 season, supporting former British Supersport and European Superstock rider Dan Linfoot alongside Superbike ‘Rookie of the Year’ Ian Lowry. The company has been the official joint sponsor of the Motorpoint Yamaha team since 2009. Node4’s MD, Andrew Gilbert, said: “British Superbikes has proven to be a great platform in raising brand awareness for us. Our decision to continue increasing our exposure is due to many members of staff being great fans of the sport, and we have thoroughly enjoyed days out at race weekends!”
The firm expects to see an
increase in the number of entrepre- neurs looking to sell their business- es to take advantage of the current capital gains tax regime. Currently, entrepreneurs who sell their businesses are subject to Capital Gains Tax, which for the
first £2m of capital gain is taxed as low as 10%, with the rest at 18%. This provides a significant tax
advantage over taking cash out of a businesses through salary and divi- dends which can exceed an effective tax rate of 50%, as income tax on earnings over £150,000 per annum hits 50% with a rate of 42.5% on dividends before tax credits. Paul Billingham of Knight said: “We fully expect CGT to rise, but
we are anticipating a window of opportunity post-election to take advantage of the current regime.” Quick to take advantage is
IP Solutions which last month acquired LiquidIT. Knight Corp- orate Finance advised IP Solutions on the deal. Keith Purves, Director at IP
Solutions said “We aim to achieve 10,000 seats by the end of 2010, and double that next year.”
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COMMS DEALER MAY 2010 3
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