The UK National Computing Centre, which last year saw the last of its government funding cut off is intending to go public. Currently the Manchester-based Centre is constituted as a membership-based research organisation with each of its 2,000 members holding a nominal UKP1 share. Chairman John Ockenden announced the plan as he unveiled the Centre’s re-organisation with a main board reduced from 16 to nine and a new executive board with the balance of representation pushed towards end-users. Existing re-organisation has already resulted in a surplus of UKP37,000 this year – the first for four years, but Ockenden says that he will not push for a flotation until he can show the City three clear years of profit. The NCC has also appointed its first marketing director: Chris Binns from the Computer Services Association, together with Christian Torkington from Coopers & Lybrand as professional services director. The NCC intends to hold onto its name and expand its consultancy and software testing arms, while shying away from facilities management. It believes that it has a fighting chance in the cut-throat world of computer consultancy since the current players are seen as becoming increasingly partisan linked to particular products or suppliers.
