Timeline
1975 Computer World Trade Ltd buy Business Computers Ltd (CW Article)
1975 Keith Howlett formed Systemation Services with Bill Gethin, Alan Tonry and Alan Edwards. John Metcalf (the former technical director of BCL) bought the name Systemation from either the receiver of BCL or Bill Gannon, the founder of Systemation. John Metcalf kindly allowed Howlett to use the name for Systemation Services. "As CWT's offshoot CFM (known by users as Can't Frigging Mend it) was not very good at fixing the M18, setting up to service the M18 user base was an opportunity not to be missed. Later when the northern directors would not go along with branching out onto other products or developing the M18 I split with them and formed Systemation Developments." CWT sold the M18 Marketing rights to Munnelly & co and the manufacturing rights to ABS the servicing staying with CFM.
1976 Ex-Singer management buy into BCL and Mike Munnelly takes over as MD (CW Article)
1977 Allied Business Systems Ltd take over manufacture of the Molecular-18 and BCL launched the Mark IV
1977 BCL signs deal with Xerox as their UK distributor.
1979 Systemation Services becomes Systemation Development Ltd (SDL)
1981 Business Computers (Systems) Ltd become Business Computers (Systems) Plc with a public launch (Prospectus)
1984 Xerox stopped the development and sale of their machines leaving BCL with no platform into which to sell their Fairway application software. The loss of sales of these relatively high margin systems caused BCL severe cash flow problems and subsequent trading losses.
1984 Business Computers (Systems) Plc suffer a bad year
1986 SDL becomes SDL Computer Group after the aquisition of two other companies
1986 Electronic Data Processing Plc buy Business Computers Plc
Annual Reports
