VAR Probrand is in bullish mood after virtually doubling its turnover in the first half of 2007.

The Birmingham-based reseller, which grabbed rival VAR HKW from administration in August (CRN, 17 August), generated an interim turnover of £16m, representing a 97 per cent increase on an annual comparison. Profits clambered 27 per cent during the same period.

Probrand claims to have seen its public sector business boosted after recently gaining a ‘Best Practice Best Value’ accreditation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW).

Peter Robbins, managing director at Probrand, said: “The ICAEW accreditation offers a genuine stamp of approval that our solutions do what we have been saying for years – offer a Best Practice approach to buying Best Value IT. This has proved especially important in reassuring the public sector that we will save them money fast and provide a tool for long term sustainable procurement.”

The reseller said its public sector prowess had also been bolstered by the launch of its public sector IT procurement portal, theitindex.co.uk/Gov. The tool provides daily updates of 100,000 IT products from 1,200 suppliers for best price and availability.

“We have also started developing a series of bespoke solutions for customers using our unique web based Mercato aggregation technology and our work continues in developing partnerships with the UK’s best SMEs, stretching our specialist offering into hi-end infrastructure technologies and network storage amongst other areas,” added Robbins.

“This year looks set to be another first on many levels and we are confident that it will be our best to date,” he said.

Probrand grabs HKW from administration