Equity house invests in services company

By DITA DE BONI

Image Centre, a private Auckland-based internet, multimedia and pre-press services company, has a new shareholder.

Venture capitalist Direct Capital Private Equity has bought a 25 per cent stake in the company.

Image Centre has an annual turnover of more than $12 million and a staff of 96. It hopes to use the capital injection to expand its web development business in overseas markets, further develop new media services and increase staff.

It may also list on the stock market at some stage.

The company, which began life as a pre-press company in Mt Eden more than 10 years ago, metamorphosed about six years ago from a high-quality scanning firm to an internet and multimedia company.

Managing director Syd Atkins said it had since experienced big dividends.

"Our success has been driven by following technology." The firm was in place before New Zealand found the need for multi-media services.

The firm's most famous website work of 200-odd sites was executed for Kiwi photographer Anne Geddes. The site attracted 25 million hits in its first four months and now receives more than 30 million hits a month.

Through Direct Capital, Image Centre is now linked to New Zealand's largest print management company, Moore Gallagher, in which the private equity house also has a 25 per cent stake.

Mr Atkins said Image Centre would benefit greatly from being near to the Australasian print giant, because Moore Gallagher customers often had website development and other multimedia requests that could be passed on.

"We've had so much business locally and have not been in a position to chase work overseas. Now we think we will be able to expand our workforce by 25 per cent in the next three to four months."

Direct Capital director Mark Hutton said Image Centre was a successful blend of "old economy" and "new economy" businesses.

"There is a place for a focused communications company. This buy-in is exciting to us because it is a good New Zealand story ... a company at the leading edge of web development and being able to take that to a global market, with our help."