A COMMUNICATIONS company has taken advantage of a £5million award windfall to continue its expansion.

Daisy Communications Ltd, Lindred Road Business Park, Nelson, has used the cash from its Bank of Scotland Entrepreneur Challenge victory last December to buy Cardiff-based telecoms reseller Economy Calls.

Bought for an undisclosed fee, the takeover is worth an estimated £3.6m in annual revenue and Daisy has boosted its customer base by 25 per cent in the process.

With more than 5,700 business end-users transferred from Economy Calls, Daisy chief executive Matthew Riley said the deal was further evidence of the company's intention to keep expanding.

He said: "It was always our intention to use the £5m funding from Bank of Scotland as the foundation to pursue acquisitions in the fragmented reseller market and working closely with the bank, this deal is the first of several.

"We have enjoyed a prolific relationship with Bank of Scotland Corporate since success in the Entrepreneur Challenge last year and the acquisition of Economy Calls further supports this and underlines the bank's commitment to enterprise."

Tony Thomas, managing director of Economy Calls, added: "I see this deal as a real progression for our customers.

"They will now have access to a much wider range of products than we could offer ourselves and, of course, they will benefit from Daisy's outstanding customer care."

Daisy sells telephone, internet and other communications packages to small and medium-sized businesses across the UK.

Back in February, the company announced the creation of 50 new jobs at its Nelson base as more workers were brought in to cope with a surge in business.

Richard Smith, director of commercial banking at Bank of Scotland Corporate, played a key role throughout, providing the funding for the acquisition.

He said: "I am happy that, following the entrepreneur challenge victory, Bank of Scotland Corporate has been able to further the company's ambitions by providing funding for this acquisition, and I look forward to continuing to work with Daisy on future plans.

"As a bank we back entrepreneurs and the funding is further evidence of our commitment to people like Matthew Riley who are the lifeblood of commerce."