Wax Digital reports record revenues
WAX DIGITAL, the Hyde-based e-procurement firm, increased turnover by 60% in the year to June 30 to £5m after efforts to expand into new markets “started to pay dividends”, according to managing director Paul Ellis.
Mr Ellis said that the firm’s growth had been profitable, but declined to give a figure. He added that it had secured more business from pan-European clients and had completed its first channel deal with software firm Sapphire Systems, which is selling its product alongside its own enterprise resource planning systems.
“It’s proved to be very successful and we have a number of potential channel partners that we’ve been talking to for some time,” he told TheBusinessDesk.com.
“We have 6-7 key partners whom we hope to start to see some revenue from this year.
“Some of these are people we’ve targeted, some are people we’ve already been working with but we’re looking to develop relationships on a more formal basis.”
Mr Ellis said that the other major area of development for the firm during the past 12 months has been customers upgrading from its e-auction systems to a broader purchase-to-pay system.
He added that its focus for the coming year would be to carve out more opportunities in the public sector in a bid to help departments use e-auctions to reduce procurement budgets.
It has recently won a contract with a Durham-based buying consortium for 12 NHS Trusts and it has implemented a system for Durham University.
“We’ve recruited a public sector specialist and we’re putting more resources and marketing capability in so we can start to grow that.”
Earlier this year, the company brought in KPMG to complete a strategic review with a view to pursuing a potential sale. The 10-year old firm’s major shareholder is London-based Nova Capital Management, which took control of Wax Digital and 11 other firms following its acquisition of Springboard plc three years ago.
However, Mr Ellis said that the company has “sufficient capital for what we want to do and added that the business was not currently up for sale.
“As long as you can steer your own ship you’ll be fine,” he said.
