Under the banner of providing The Total Solution, the Granada Computer Services arm of Granada Group Plc has launched a new Communications Division. It will provide consultancy, project management, facilities management, network support and maintenance, and, exploiting its existing value-added network, managed data network services. The new UKP250,000 division is based in Bedford, and will employ 12 full-time communications and sales consultants. The company cited strong customer-base demand, and a chance to gear up for the communications potential of the 1992 Open Market as the chief motivations behind the move. In a quick corporate overview, UK sales director Colin Cook claimed that Granada now has 20% of the European independent maintenance market, and is four times the size of its chief competitor. In the course of a two-year spending spree, the company has acquired no fewer than six different maintenance companies, and now has divisions in France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Italy. In the UK, where its maintenance market share currently stands at 40%, Granada’s latest buy was the troubled DPCE Holdings. An ex-DPCE man, Cook confirmed that pre acquisiton, the company had expanded beyond its resources, but claimed integration had been a relatively painless process. He also denied that profitability had been impaired by the deal, arguing that as a unit, DPCE represents only around 8% of the overall Granada Group. In the year ending September 1988, the Granada Group saw pre-tax profits of UKP143m, on a turnover of UKP1,500m. Granada puts the contribution made to both areas by the consumer electronics division at around 51%.
