Mark “Spie” Proudfoot, etailer Overclockers UK’s former owner, comments on the sale to to the owners of German distributor Caseking.
Mark “Spie” Proudfoot, etailer Overclockers UK’s former owner, comments on the sale to to the owners of German distributor Caseking.
The statement reads:
On 30th January 2012 I sold Overclockers UK and its associated companies to AF Gaming Gmbh, owners of well-known European distributer Caseking.
Overclockers UK was borne from an idea in 1999 to offer overclocked CPUs commercially with guaranteed performance. It was an immediate hit and over the following years grew rapidly into one of the most successful online vendors of PC components and systems in the UK. The time had come for me to realise my investment and therefore hand over the company to those deserving of such responsibility.
Let me introduce you to the two new Joint Managing Director’s of Overclockers UK, Toni Sonn aka CK-Toni and Kay Kostadinov aka CK-Kay. Together they have built Caseking into a force to be reckoned with having operations in Germany, France and Holland. They have Europe’s largest case range with 95% available from stock, an excellent reputation for customer service and numerous exclusive importation and distribution deals. They intend to take Overclockers UK to the next level by investing in technology, new product offerings and a strengthening of its online presence. The Company’s existing relationships with its UK customers and its long-standing suppliers as well as the Newcastle-under-Lyme premises will be further improved by the investment plans. The management teams of Overclockers UK and Caseking are keen to continue with the successful development of the combined group as a pan-European market leader. Overclockers UK and Caseking will continue to offer a constant flow of new product developments, the best performing hardware and exclusive designs to European computer enthusiasts in the future. You can read a little bit about Toni and Caseking here.
These forums were born 12 years ago, designed and created by myself as a place where like-minded people could learn and share. I am immensely proud of the forums and all that they have achieved. We have always been different – bold, outspoken and controversial – but that set us apart from the rest. Toni and Kay are totally committed to the forums and have no plans to change a winning formula.
I am very happy to have Overclockers UK in the capable hands of Toni and Kay together with existing Technical Director David Middling and Purchasing Manager Andy Gibson. I am sure that they will take the Company from strength to strength.
So what does the future hold for me? That’s something I’m looking forward to finding out, but in the meantime I have been asked to remain as an Admin of the forums and I have agreed to do so.
Finally I’d like to thank every single Overclockers UK customer, all staff and forum members who have helped make this company what it is today. An amazing chapter in the history of Overclockers UK has closed and an exciting new one has opened.
Mark “Spie” Proudfoot
Founder and former owner of Overclockers UK
Overclockers UK was borne from an idea in 1999 to offer overclocked CPUs commercially with guaranteed performance. It was an immediate hit and over the following years grew rapidly into one of the most successful online vendors of PC components and systems in the UK. The time had come for me to realise my investment and therefore hand over the company to those deserving of such responsibility.
Let me introduce you to the two new Joint Managing Director’s of Overclockers UK, Toni Sonn aka CK-Toni and Kay Kostadinov aka CK-Kay. Together they have built Caseking into a force to be reckoned with having operations in Germany, France and Holland. They have Europe’s largest case range with 95% available from stock, an excellent reputation for customer service and numerous exclusive importation and distribution deals. They intend to take Overclockers UK to the next level by investing in technology, new product offerings and a strengthening of its online presence. The Company’s existing relationships with its UK customers and its long-standing suppliers as well as the Newcastle-under-Lyme premises will be further improved by the investment plans. The management teams of Overclockers UK and Caseking are keen to continue with the successful development of the combined group as a pan-European market leader. Overclockers UK and Caseking will continue to offer a constant flow of new product developments, the best performing hardware and exclusive designs to European computer enthusiasts in the future. You can read a little bit about Toni and Caseking here.
These forums were born 12 years ago, designed and created by myself as a place where like-minded people could learn and share. I am immensely proud of the forums and all that they have achieved. We have always been different – bold, outspoken and controversial – but that set us apart from the rest. Toni and Kay are totally committed to the forums and have no plans to change a winning formula.
I am very happy to have Overclockers UK in the capable hands of Toni and Kay together with existing Technical Director David Middling and Purchasing Manager Andy Gibson. I am sure that they will take the Company from strength to strength.
So what does the future hold for me? That’s something I’m looking forward to finding out, but in the meantime I have been asked to remain as an Admin of the forums and I have agreed to do so.
Finally I’d like to thank every single Overclockers UK customer, all staff and forum members who have helped make this company what it is today. An amazing chapter in the history of Overclockers UK has closed and an exciting new one has opened.
Mark “Spie” Proudfoot
Founder and former owner of Overclockers UK
The news was greeted warmly by members of the Official OCUK Forum, which augmented the OCUK business and has grown to one which features over 13,000 active members. Purchasing Manager Andy “Gibbo” Gibson commented:
Mark
[..]
The future is very bright and very exciting. OcUK is not changing in any way, same company, same staff, were now just looking to expand and improve on the great job were already doing.
Mark AKA Spie, built the company and forums from the ground up, the result is now a multi-million pound company and after 10+yrs of hard work Mark has taken his investment and now its down to the myself, Dave, plus the OcUK staff and the MD’s of the Caseking to take OcUK onto the next level which will not effect customers in anyway, apart from things only getting better.
Once again congrats Mark.
[..]
The future is very bright and very exciting. OcUK is not changing in any way, same company, same staff, were now just looking to expand and improve on the great job were already doing.
Mark AKA Spie, built the company and forums from the ground up, the result is now a multi-million pound company and after 10+yrs of hard work Mark has taken his investment and now its down to the myself, Dave, plus the OcUK staff and the MD’s of the Caseking to take OcUK onto the next level which will not effect customers in anyway, apart from things only getting better.
Once again congrats Mark.
Mr Proudfoot will remain an Admin of the OCUK forums during the transitional period, and the OCUK management will no doubt attempt to impress upon the new owners the USP that is the forum community.
For their part, Caseking will be bringing much larger purchasing power as well as their own expertise to the organisation. Furthermore OCUK may now have access to numerous Caseking exclusives, more comprehensive product lines, and be able to take advantage of their close ties to manufacturers. In the long term this should allow OCUK to grow well beyond their current size and influence in the UK market.
