Room for Improvement? We believe so.

December 2010

If you suffer any of the frustrations around booking and using meetings rooms, hot-desks or video conferencing, you’ll also probably share some of the excitement that Paul Sykes and the management team of Yorkshire based Pennine Holdings Ltd is feeling right now.

They have just acquired Business Careware Ltd. - the company that specialises in providing the technology that makes meeting space and facilities management easier and more cost effective. They are looking forward to helping more and more businesses save time, recover costs and improve efficiency around physical and/or virtual meetings.

Their impressive client list includes international accountants, lawyers, entertainment and financial services companies as well as several universities and local authorities in the UK. Business Careware systems are also being used by some fabulous hotels, conference centres and other meeting venues.

“We have explored the market where this type of software is used and firmly believe that most organisations are still ‘making do’ with systems which aren’t really up to the job,” said Matt Blyden, Pennine’s Director of Marketing and Business Development. “The CABS Chamberlain system from Business Careware was first created over 15 years ago and so is very well established. It is full of fantastic features that make life easier for all types of users as well as being more cost effective for their organisations.

“We also believe that there are lots of great opportunities for organisations of all types to get smarter with their meetings and use of space. This will enable them to reduce the number of external meeting rooms they hire, cut the number of desks they have to provide and significantly improve the utilisation of the space they have. This could easily add up to savings of 20% or more of related costs.”

Business Careware will retain its support and development centre in Thame in Oxfordshire and the Pennine Holdings base in Sheffield will become the company’s commercial centre with plans already in place to attract more clients in this region.

Sheffield advisers Hart Shaw & Ironmonger Curtis advised Pennine Holdings on the transaction.

Chris Sellars, Corporate Finance Partner at Hart Shaw comments: “Pennine Holdings has an outstanding management team who will, I am sure, ensure the further development of Business Careware.”

Trevor Ironmonger, Partner at solicitors Ironmonger Curtis, comments: “The team at Pennine Holdings has the necessary talents to take this product forward and grow the business of Business Careware”.