Smart card business purchased by £23m ticketing company
Ticketing business BemroseBooth Paragon has snapped up a specialist smart card business.
The Hull-based business has acquired Cambridgeshire company Burall InfoSmart, a specialist in ITSO smart cards. ITSO is the Government-backed organisation which defines and develops the UK-wide technical specification for smart cards.
BBP itself is a fully owned subsidiary of the Paragon Group, and turned over £22.8m in the year to June 2016 and has been undergoing a major restructure over the past year.
It supplies magnetic, thermal and barcode tickets for the transportation sector, including nearly 1 billion magnetic stripe tickets for the UK train operating companies, as well as smart and contactless cards and employs 162 people.
The acquisition by BBP will allow the business to launch ITSO approved smart products and services into this sector, assisting the UK train operators to make a transition to smart ticketing.
Paul McEnaney from BBP commented: “We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of Burall InfoSmart. The many synergies between BBPtech, our technological centre of excellence in Boston, and Burall InfoSmart will allow for a much greater offering of RFID, smart ticketing and smart card bureau services, not just to the transportation sector but many other areas such as education, local authorities and public utilities providers.
“Coming together to become one of the leading suppliers in the UK supports our strategy for future growth and development as we explore new markets, as well as continuing to supply to the mass transit sector.”
Arron Duddin, the current MD of Burall InfoSmart, will now take over as Smart Solutions Director for the enlarged company, working closely with the sales and marketing team at BBP and BBPtech, to develop and grow the business over the coming years.
He comments: “We have worked hard over the years to position Burall InfoSmart as a leading supplier of ITSO accredited smart solutions. Combining our products and skills with those of BBP creates a company that can support customers with all of their tickets and smart card requirements. The complimentary products, services and values we have in place will deliver ongoing benefits to our extensive list of customers.”
