Education IT Provider Advanced Swoops On Systems Designer Compass

In a £14.5m deal, UK healthcare, business management and learning software provider Advanced Computer Software Group has bought Compass Computer Consultants, an education systems designer.

“This earnings enhancing acquisition is complementary to the Group’s existing education sector offering. It provides us with greater critical mass and a broader product range for the growing education market in the UK,” claimed Advanced Chief Executive, Vin Murria.

Compass is a higher education software provider, offering a records management and CRM solution to that market. Its student record system is used in about 80% of colleges in the country, it claims.

The acquisition means it now has 350 colleges to offer further services to, according to Dean Dickinson, the company’s managing director.

This contract follows a previous acquisition made by Advanced in December 2012, when it purchased Serco Learning, a provider of record management for primary and secondary schools, for £7.25m.

The Group said it is interested in targeting further and higher education institutions, but Serco is unable to cater for these.

In a press interview this week, Dickinson claimed Serco did not have the bandwidth for investment to expand into universities, but that this move plugs that gap.

He also claimed there were no issues with the integration of Serco and Advanced and so forsees no issues of the integration of Compass.  

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