Unloved IT services provider Netstore has poached new chief executive Graham Kingsmill from the world’s third-largest software company, SAP.

Kingsmill, who was lately managing director of SAP’s UK and Irish operations after 11 years at the company, has two decades of experience in the IT sector including at IBM, Norsk Data, Intergraph and Parametric Technology Corp. He joins a profitable company that has been struggling to grow by acquisition and in March conceded defeat after a five-month campaign to buy disaster recovery specialist ICM.

Paul Barry-Walsh, chairman and temporary chief executive officer since the departure last year of previous incumbent Neil Lloyd, was, needless to say, ‘delighted’. ‘This appointment completes the process of constructing a new management team following the integration of our recent acquisitions and Graham’s experience in the IT sector and reputation for delivering growth will greatly benefit Netstore’s ambition to be the UK’s leading provider of software as a service to the mid market,’ he commented.

Netstore shareholders will hope the new arrival can inject some energy into the shares, which have dithered around the 35p mark in the seven years since a millennial peak of 170p.