National Computing Centre
Encyclopedia
The National Computing Centre (NCC) was an independent not-for-profit membership and research organisation that went in to administartion before being liquidated in 2010. The name is now used as the trading name of a new company that changed its name from Redholt Limited to the National Computing Centre Limited (NCC Ltd) when its acquired the assets of NCC through a pre-pack administration arrangement. The new company formed in 2010 maintains some of the ideals of the original company.
Formation and Early Years
The National Computing Centre was founded on 10 June 1966 by the Labour UK Government, as an autonomous not-for-profit organisation, in order to encourage the growth of computer usage in the UK and ensure that the necessary education and training was made available. NCC was one of the visible outcomes from Harold Wilson's "White Heat of Technology" speech and the formation of a Ministry of Technology, the others being the computer company ICL and chip maker INMOS (both now defunct).
Initially, most income came directly from government grants, but with the growth of NCC's commercial operations this ceased in 1989. During the 1970s and 1980s NCC had a joint venture with Blackwell Publishing (NCC Blackwell) which was a significant publisher of academic computing books.
Between 1989 and 1996 NCC operated with 5 main divisions - Education, Consulting, Escrow, Membership Services and System Engineering deriving income from membership fees and its commercial activities.
NCC Education
In 1996 the National Computing Centre sold its overseas education business to stave off a finanincial crisis that occurred when the company breached it's borrowing limits.
MBO, NCC Services Ltd and NCC Group plc
In 1999 its sold its commercial divisions (turnover of less than £10m) which provided Escrow, Consultancy, System Engineering services to its existing management team supported by ECI ventures for £5m. This new company was named NCC Services Limited and later became NCC Group Limited of which the National Computing Centre held a 20% share. John Perkins became the new Managing Director of National Computing Centre, which remained a not for profit membership organisation.
The NCC Services Ltd management team of Managing Director Chris Pearse and directors John Morris, Peter Bird and Chris Sadler was strengthened in March 2000 by the appointment of Rob Cotton as Finance Director and who also took over control of the Escrow division, with Morris leaving at that time. Following a substantial fall off of revenues as Y2K came and passed the Group began to make monthly losses before the benefits of the changes to the Escrow business were felt and the company returned to profitability.
Renamed NCC Group, in May 2000, and with Escrow now the cornerstone of the Group, Rob Cotton led a secondary management buy-out in 2003 valuing NCC Group at £30m and supported by Barclays Private Equity. . At this point the National Computing Centre sold its shares in NCC Group as did Pearse, Bird and Sadler who left the business. The NCC Group floated on the AIM stock market in 2004 for £55m raising nearly £40m of new money. Since then through carefully targeted, complimentary acquistions and effective management, the Group, by now fully a listed company on the London Stock Exchange since 2007, has grown to a market capitalisation of nearly £250m. The NCC Group now only provides global Escrow and Security services to over 15,000 customers including 94 of the FTSE 100.
The Failure of National Computing Centre
With the substantial proceeds from the sale of NCC Group Limited and also from the sale of its iconic Manchester Oxford Road building to Bruntwood Group (now the home of NCC Group plc), the National Computing Centre, now under Michael Gough who was appointed at the end of 2000, pursued a new strategy of developing and expanding its membership services by acquistion of similar businesses. Over the next three years all of the companys funds were used to acquire a number of related membership organisations and publications.
The strategy failed completely and the National Computing Centre diminished in size and turnover. Despite the many millions that had been received, and spent, from the sale of its assets and despite the new businesses acquired, NCC made continued and unsustainable losses. To stem the losses NCC was forced to dispose of all of the acquisitions at a substantial loss and Michael Gough was dismissed from the business in February 2008 as a consequence.
In March 2008 Steve Markwell was appointed as Chief Executive and his time in charge saw no improvement to the company's fortunes. The only asset remaining Filetab being sold in 2009 and with monthly losses and the size of the pension fund deficit increasing, the company was unable to meet its obligations and was placed in to administration by it's management.
Administration, Liquidation and Pre-pack
In Feb 2010 NCC went in to administration and ultimately liquidation. The few remaining assets and IP were transferred by a "pre-pack" administration arrangement to Redholt Ltd a new private company set up and owned by a group of six shareholders, including two former Directors of the insolvent National Computing Centre, thus distancing itself from the creditors which included a substantial pension fund liability which resulted in the insolvency of the pension fund later that year.
Redholt Ltd, was renamed as The National Computing Centre Limited (NCC Ltd) in Feb 2011. New NCC Ltd is not a mutual not-for-profit organisation but retains some of the member organisations of the liquidated company for whom it delivers some of the same products and services. It is still nationally recognised by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the British Standards Institution, however, its fall from grace now means that the voice of computer user is better heard by independent, not for profit organisations such the BCS, SOCITM, ASSIST etc. NCC extended its portfolio of services to include IT consulting.
Formation and Early Years
The National Computing Centre was founded on 10 June 1966 by the Labour UK Government, as an autonomous not-for-profit organisation, in order to encourage the growth of computer usage in the UK and ensure that the necessary education and training was made available. NCC was one of the visible outcomes from Harold Wilson's "White Heat of Technology" speech and the formation of a Ministry of Technology, the others being the computer company ICL and chip maker INMOS (both now defunct).
Initially, most income came directly from government grants, but with the growth of NCC's commercial operations this ceased in 1989. During the 1970s and 1980s NCC had a joint venture with Blackwell Publishing (NCC Blackwell) which was a significant publisher of academic computing books.
Between 1989 and 1996 NCC operated with 5 main divisions - Education, Consulting, Escrow, Membership Services and System Engineering deriving income from membership fees and its commercial activities.
NCC Education
In 1996 the National Computing Centre sold its overseas education business to stave off a finanincial crisis that occurred when the company breached it's borrowing limits.
MBO, NCC Services Ltd and NCC Group plc
In 1999 its sold its commercial divisions (turnover of less than £10m) which provided Escrow, Consultancy, System Engineering services to its existing management team supported by ECI ventures for £5m. This new company was named NCC Services Limited and later became NCC Group Limited of which the National Computing Centre held a 20% share. John Perkins became the new Managing Director of National Computing Centre, which remained a not for profit membership organisation.
The NCC Services Ltd management team of Managing Director Chris Pearse and directors John Morris, Peter Bird and Chris Sadler was strengthened in March 2000 by the appointment of Rob Cotton as Finance Director and who also took over control of the Escrow division, with Morris leaving at that time. Following a substantial fall off of revenues as Y2K came and passed the Group began to make monthly losses before the benefits of the changes to the Escrow business were felt and the company returned to profitability.
Renamed NCC Group, in May 2000, and with Escrow now the cornerstone of the Group, Rob Cotton led a secondary management buy-out in 2003 valuing NCC Group at £30m and supported by Barclays Private Equity. . At this point the National Computing Centre sold its shares in NCC Group as did Pearse, Bird and Sadler who left the business. The NCC Group floated on the AIM stock market in 2004 for £55m raising nearly £40m of new money. Since then through carefully targeted, complimentary acquistions and effective management, the Group, by now fully a listed company on the London Stock Exchange since 2007, has grown to a market capitalisation of nearly £250m. The NCC Group now only provides global Escrow and Security services to over 15,000 customers including 94 of the FTSE 100.
The Failure of National Computing Centre
With the substantial proceeds from the sale of NCC Group Limited and also from the sale of its iconic Manchester Oxford Road building to Bruntwood Group (now the home of NCC Group plc), the National Computing Centre, now under Michael Gough who was appointed at the end of 2000, pursued a new strategy of developing and expanding its membership services by acquistion of similar businesses. Over the next three years all of the companys funds were used to acquire a number of related membership organisations and publications.
The strategy failed completely and the National Computing Centre diminished in size and turnover. Despite the many millions that had been received, and spent, from the sale of its assets and despite the new businesses acquired, NCC made continued and unsustainable losses. To stem the losses NCC was forced to dispose of all of the acquisitions at a substantial loss and Michael Gough was dismissed from the business in February 2008 as a consequence.
In March 2008 Steve Markwell was appointed as Chief Executive and his time in charge saw no improvement to the company's fortunes. The only asset remaining Filetab being sold in 2009 and with monthly losses and the size of the pension fund deficit increasing, the company was unable to meet its obligations and was placed in to administration by it's management.
Administration, Liquidation and Pre-pack
In Feb 2010 NCC went in to administration and ultimately liquidation. The few remaining assets and IP were transferred by a "pre-pack" administration arrangement to Redholt Ltd a new private company set up and owned by a group of six shareholders, including two former Directors of the insolvent National Computing Centre, thus distancing itself from the creditors which included a substantial pension fund liability which resulted in the insolvency of the pension fund later that year.
Redholt Ltd, was renamed as The National Computing Centre Limited (NCC Ltd) in Feb 2011. New NCC Ltd is not a mutual not-for-profit organisation but retains some of the member organisations of the liquidated company for whom it delivers some of the same products and services. It is still nationally recognised by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the British Standards Institution, however, its fall from grace now means that the voice of computer user is better heard by independent, not for profit organisations such the BCS, SOCITM, ASSIST etc. NCC extended its portfolio of services to include IT consulting.