Win for software exports

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

Financial software developer the Tacit Group has won a Trade New Zealand Export Award after it clocked up foreign exchange earnings of $12 million in four years from a standing start.

The Takapuna company started in the mid-1980s as a home-based actuarial consultancy, but later diversified into developing software for banks and insurance companies.

In 1987 the company launched its Talisman suite which included modules for life insurance and unit trust administration, superannuation, workflow management, and mortgages and loan administration.

Chief executive Jan Hilder said local Talisman customers included the Bank of New Zealand and ASB Bank, but export sales now accounted for about 70 per cent of Tacit's $20 million annual turnover.

Tacit recently delivered a life insurance system worth $5 million to a customer in the UK and another worth $1.4 million to a Hong Kong institution.

"In our sector there just aren't enough customers in New Zealand to get a return on your investment," she said.

"Mergers and acquisitions since the 1980s have left us with big, but not many, financial institutions."

In 1999 the company received the first $1 million of $3 million from Wellington venture capital company No 8 Ventures and has since raised further capital from private investors.

It has doubled from 100 to 200 employees and has opened offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Manchester.

Hilder said she was negotiating with a US institution to finance further expansion into Asia and Europe.

She added the company would eventually seek a listing on either the US Nasdaq or London Stock Exchange but this might take another two to five years.