Zelix Corporation Ltd, formed as a holding company in July 1989 and planning to go public within a few years (CI No 1,234), has made its second acquisition in the ICL world. Phoenix Services Group, the London-based ICL trader, has come under the Zelix umbrella, and with a turnover of UKP4.5m, increases the turnover of the holding company’s ICL division to around UKP12m. When Zelix was established last year, the Wolverhampton operation claimed that it would float when it achieved net profits of UKP1m. Nine months into a three year schedule, managing director Chris Davis says that the company is well on target to achieving that end. Zelix’ first acquisition was the Carnell Computer Technology, also an ICL trader, which was turning over UKP8m, and needed investment capital to enhance its VME, fourth generation language, and Unix product base. Zelix paid UKP300,000 for Carnell, and the 61% shareholding in Phoenix has set it back a further UKP300,000; the stake will rise to 90% in the near future. The initial shareholding in Carnell stood at 75%, and following an exchange for shares in the Zelix Corp, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary. When Zelix was established, Davis said he would like to see the company develop a strong presence in several markets, including IBM agencies and Unix-based software, in addition to consultancy, recruitment and training. He has gone a considerable way to achieving this by making three other acquisitions in the IBM and Unix sectors. In August last year, a 75% stake in an IBM systems house, the Newgate Group, was bought for UKP120,000. Zelix Systems, based in Kilmarnock and Livingston, and Crosskeys of Marlborough, Wiltshire were then added for UKP64,000. Zelix Systems is a Unix house supplying order and distribution software packages, and Crosskeys is a management consultancy. Davis says that the coming year is likely to be more oriented towards organic growth and consolidation, although acquisition remains very much to the forefront with IBM agents and consultancy of particular interest.
