Electronic Data Systems Corp continues to take confident strides forward in Spain, having recently completed the purchase of Leinsa, formerly the computing services subsidiary of the Banco Banesto. Leinsa has 430 staff and did $37.5m in 1993. Electronic Data Systems will now control the data processing activities of the Banesto- Santander banking group. This acquisition confirms the aggressive policy of growth the company is pursuing in Spain, said EDS Espana, which now boasts almost 1,000 employees and new premises on the outskirts of Madrid. Meanwhile the Business Recovery Centre which opened in Barcelona in late 1993 now protects 14 Spanish companies and one multinational from the contingencies of accident or disaster. Javier Ribas, marketing director for EDS Espana, quoted turnover of $58.3m for 1994, with 50% of sales generated through the company’s activities with General Motors Corp. Ribas believed that the data management contract Electronic Data Systems won from the Inland Revenue in the UK will stand the Spanish arm in good stead when it comes to challenge the likes of IBM Corp, Sema Group Plc, Cap Gemini Sogeti SA and Andersen Consulting for a similar contract, which may soon be offered by Hacienda, the Inland Revenue’s counterpart in Spain. At present the public sector provides EDS Espana with 18% of its business, with a further 13% drawn from industry, to which the company offers its services as a consultant in order to improve productivity. Ribas said the financial sector, currently providing 19% of the company’s turnover, represented the key area for growth in the future. Electronic Data Systems is also attracted by the potential pickings to be gleaned from the emergent cable television arena, and it is negotiating with several companies in Spain with a view to offering data management services related to distribution networks, rate structure systems and movie stock control.
