COMPUTER mouse mats have made more than a million pounds for a Thame couple.

Paul and Nicola Cohen came up with the idea of manufacturing and marketing promotional mouse mats, sold to corporate gift houses and marketing agencies.

Now their company, Data Design Distribution, based at the Thame Business Centre in Wenman Road, Thame, has changed hands in a £1.4m deal backed by venture capitalists 3i.

The management buy-in was led by chief executive Robin Bennett, who joins the business from mail order catalogue firm Step-By-Step which he founded in 1990.

A 40 per cent stake in Data Design was kept by 3i which has pumped £650,000 into the acquisition.

Mr Bennett said: "We intend to produce a number of computer accessories. All products are produced in Britain which means that we can get them to customers fast. People buying promotional mouse mats tend to need them quickly."

Data Design has annual sales of around £2m, with much of its sales being achieved in Europe.

The UK market for computer accessories has more than doubled in the last three years and is forecast to grow even faster as the Internet expands.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.