Access reports difficult period for Cobent acquisition

The group, which has its MS2M compliance division based in York, said the year had been "very good" for most of its companies.

But after a strong first couple of months, the group said it has been a difficult period for its latest acquisition, Cobent.

Despite this, it said it is confident is has an "excellent" software product in Cobent and it looks forward to the division's future growth.

Cobent, whose customers include the United Nations, opens up new opportunities where customers are forced to leave audit trails to comply with regulations.

The best performing divisions were Access Intelligence Media Communications and Due North, which the group said had "delivered excellent results".

The company said it has made significant progress in the private sector with several new contract wins.

Access's software helps businesses and organisations cut costs around procurement, and also helps them comply with legislation around sensitive issues such as tendering contracts.

About half of its revenues come from the public sector, but it has been focusing heavily on private sector opportunities.

Access moved its group head office from York to London when executive chairman Michael Jackson arrived in 2008 and injected 1.3m into the business, pledging a "buy-and-build" strategy.