Online retailer’s month-long search for buyer nears completion with giant integrator

Pan-European integrator SCC was expected to make its first acquisition of this financial year, in the form of online reseller IT247.com.

The Stockport-based e-tailer has been touting itself around the channel looking for a buyer for the past month. A deal with SCC was said to be imminent.

Two-year-old IT247 posted sales of £3.1m in 2006, but was reported to be forecasting a £39m turnover for 2008.

Steve Willock, managing director of IT247, said: “We have been courting potential buyers through Icon Corporate Finance. We have a lot of interested parties and hope to announce something shortly.”

Stewart Hayward, commercial director at online VAR WStore, said the acquisition would be an interesting move for SCC.

“From SCC’s point of view it obviously recognises the importance of having a decent, recognised online presence,” he said. “The older, established corporate VARs don’t have that kind of e-commerce presence, so if they want to play in the SME arena, it makes sense to make an acquisition of this nature.”

Another attractive aspect of IT247 is that aside from its e-tail business, the firm has developed its own build-to-order software, Intoscape. The technology, which will be retained by IT247’s parent company and licensed to the e-tailer’s buyer, enables the firm to manage a massive catalogue of online products.

Computacenter (CC) was also due to meet with IT247 last week.

Mike Norris, chief executive of CC, would not confirm a meeting has been scheduled, but said: “We have a track record of buying interesting assets and I would always look at opportunities.”