Mitek was founded in 1989 as a computer-component reseller. But sales at the Staffordshire company only began to take off after Malcolm Roach took over in 1996. He started to offer financial support as well as accounting and back-office services to Mitek’s smaller customers in return for a fee and an exclusive supplier agreement. Sales responded by growing 78% a year from £2m in 1998 to £11.1m in 2001, when the company had 24 employees.