BDE consolidates Tetra channel with Leeds buy

BDE International, the acquisitive Worcester-based Tetra reseller, has extended its coverage of the manufacturing sector by buying Leeds dealer IBS International for an undisclosed cash sum.

At the same time BDE International is converting into a holding company for the four trading companies in the group (Microdyanamics based in Bristol and Worcester, Rowtall Computing in Walsall and IBS in Leeds). IBS has an excellent reputation in the manufacturing sector, according to BDE group MD Peter Reynolds. "We are strong in finance and distribution. With IBS, we have the third part of the triangle," he said.

IBS will trade as an autonomous unit of BDE, he said. "IBS are a super, little company who have been overtaken by events. It needed the backing of a bigger company," he said. "We will replace the indebtedness, the business overdraft with an inter-company loan, and give it good working capital."

All 10 IBS staff are staying on, and the company will recruit more sales and marketing people, Reynolds said. With the addition of IBS' £1 million-plus t/o, BDE International is on target for £6m sales this year, according to Reynolds. The company said it had no intention of buying another Tetra dealership until IBS was bedded down. This will take at least six months, Reynolds said. The group aims to achieve 20 per cent organic growth through its Tetra business. It is also investing heavily in building up a networking business built around Windows NT.

Prior to the IBS acquisition, BDE ranked number eight by size in The Tetra reseller rankings. With IBS on board, the group now as 450 Tetra sites and may now be as high as five or six.

However, it still has some way to go before the company approaches the size of Tetra market leaders Apex and Datel. Tetra has named these resellers its first two Enterprise Business partners. Reynolds estimates that BDE will meet Tetra's net spend requirements "within two years". ®