FI Group Plc, the Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire-based software and services operation, has fulfilled its intention to expand by acquisition (CI No 1,651), with the purchase of Leeds, West Yorkshire-based Kernel Technology Ltd and Kernel Training Ltd, two open systems services companies. The two companies, acquired for an undisclosed sum, have 70 staff and a combined turnover of UKP3.6m. Says chief executive Hilary Cropper, Kernel Technology and Kernel Training will be run independently, reporting to FI Group’s new open systems division. Kernel Technology was established in 1986 to service the open systems market. The company specialises in the development of commercial and technical software tools for Unix. It has a technical division, which supplies services to hardware manufacturers and an applications division, which provides services to government departments and commercial users. The UKP1m-a-year Kernel Training offers education and consultancy services to the same markets.
