THE man who turned North-East software house Sage into an international brand name is aiming to repeat his success in the IT support market.

Technology Services Group (TSG), an IT solutions firm set up by Sage co-founder Graham Wylie, has revealed that it intends to treble in size over the next two years, as it aims to become a national brand.

The group, based at Gosforth Business Park in Newcastle, was established in October 2003, when Mr Wylie bought out Joynson's in Gateshead. TSG has since purchased ten other independent businesses.

It now employs 380 people, has a client base of 9,000 small and medium-sized businesses and last year had a £36m turnover.

Nigel Hudson, TSG group director, said: "It would be fantastic to double what we did last year. If we can do that in year two and three, we will be absolutely delighted.

"We have got sufficient financial resource to build a national profile and to do it properly."

TSG is already one of the biggest names in the market and trebling in size would take turnover past the £100m mark.

"Being the biggest isn't the goal," said Mr Hudson.

"We want to be best in our target market and build long-term relationships with our customers, who come back to us because we do a good job."

Customer satisfaction is monitored closely and results speak for themselves, with 80 per cent of TSG's customers recommending it to other businesses.

Mr Wylie sold five per cent of his stock in Newcastle-based Sage in April 2003. He set up TSG five months later and Mr Hudson, then business development director of Sage UK, joined him shortly afterwards.

"I was at Sage for ten years and still have a huge affection for it," he said. "But this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."

TSG's rapid expansion is based on Mr Hudson finding the right independent IT firms to buy out.

All staff are retained, so TSG is able to maintain the management of new acquisitions, gaining skills along with customers.

Mr Hudson said: "We try to identify best practice, so every business we have bought has taught us something.

"When we are looking for a new member to bring to the group, we are looking for those little nuggets. We are talking to a lot of businesses to find the ones we think are the best fit.

"They don't have to be the biggest, but have to have a great service culture."