Anglo strikes BAE telematics and funding deal

NEWS BAE Systems is buying mobile communications service provider Anglo Communications' telematics division for £2.85m. Anglo has been built up over the past three years as a reseller of BT Cellnet and Vodafone GSM services, and now it is also touting its Anglo Adviser service, which provides location-sensitive GPS-enabled handsets to end users in areas such as healthcare and sales. The BAE telematics deal will see 29.7 per cent of Anglo's parent, Ofex-listed Recall Group, go to the aerospace giant for £850,000. An additional £2m will be made available to Recall in corporate financing. Mark Weir, current Anglo MD and former Hutchison and Martin Dawes executive, denied the focus on telematics is due to any slowdown in the sale of GSM services. A contract to rollout telematics-based technology in BCH Vehicle Leasing's 27,000-strong fleet of cars shows there is future demand, he said. Similarly, Anglo has sold its Anglo Adviser solution to Lancashire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.