The Liverpool-based computing services group Fraser Williams has seen turnover rise 17% to nearly UKP25m, with pre-tax profits up 14% to over UKP1m in the year to March 1989. The company is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year having been established in 1969 by partners of the 19th century actuary Duncan Fraser and its current managing director Eric Williams. Nowadays, however, the equity reposes in the company with the sleeping partners, Fraser having been bought out and the management owning 80% of the shares. Three acquisitions were completed over the past year: in Holland the final phase of the purchase of software house BAS was completed, while in the UK the software house Optionmove which specialises in air freight computing systems was acquired and a majority shareholding was taken in the software company Birschfield which develops and installs computer systems for the fresh produce industry. The Group has 28 computing services subsidiaries or profit centres as it likes to call them which range in size from a staff of 10 to 110. The vast majority of them are dotted about the UK and each one will either target a specific vertical market or will be an IBM or DEC agent. The only exception to this generalisation is the company called Adtrack which monitors advertising around the world for clients such as BMW. Two subsidiaries (including BAS) are in Holland and one is in Canada. Although in the past expansion has come organically, Fraser Williams is looking to grow acquisitively on the continent and is actively investigating possibilities there. The public flotation of the group is an option that is reviewed continuously but is a decision yet to be taken.
