Office equipment entrepreneur John Green is gearing up for a busy New Year after expanding his operations.

He is expecting 20 per cent growth in his Bradford-based office machine supplies business after taking over two other dealerships.

Commerce Business Systems, based at Commerce Court, Laisterdyke, supplies and services photocopiers, printers and fax machines.

After taking over Imaje Systems, in Sheffield, and Yorkshire Copiers, in Leeds, the firm’s turnover is predicted to rise from £1.4m to £1.7m within 12 months.

The company will now look to grow its customer base in South Yorkshire.

Managing director John Green started the company in the spare bedroom of his home with no equipment in 1992.

Since then he has grown Commerce Business Systems to a point where it employs 14 staff and has 1,000 machines on its books.

The company negotiated the recent acquisition deals after receiving a £30,000 business loan from Finance Yorkshire, the regional business investment fund.

Mr Green said: “We are very sales driven. I’m from a sales background and still like to keep a hands-on approach with clients. We are constantly trying to push the business forward which is why the loan from Finance Yorkshire is appreciated.

“Without Finance Yorkshire we would have been very tight on cash flow. The loan prevented us from losing a profitable acquisition and has accelerated our growth.”