The deal, which was transacted with support from leading private equity provider LDC, who invested in EDM in September 2011, follows on from the Group’s £52million merger with Sala International last year.
Established in 1996, London-based Filing Plus provides a wide range of document management consultancy services and file audits to a diverse customer base including large corporates. The acquisition provides EDM with a well-established sales and consultancy presence in London, from which to extend the Group’s capabilities and services portfolio.
The founder of Filing Plus, Guy Spragg has joined the EDM management team with immediate effect. Commenting on the acquisition, Spragg said:
“EDM Group’s ability to deliver a genuinely coherent information management solution, based on proven outsourced services will provide a wealth of opportunities to our current client base. Importantly, with what is probably the UK’s largest capacity for document digitisation, the Group’s size and scale also means that our customers will be able to realise the tangible and commercial benefits of these purpose built solutions in a relatively short period of time.”
As a result of the acquisition EDM Group now employs more than 640 people across eight locations across the UK. Predominantly operating within the financial services, business services and healthcare sectors, the Group provide one of the industry’s most comprehensive and advanced offerings, combining market-leading services in digital mailroom, print room, document digitisation, records management, online document hosting and SaaS solutions for business process management.
Sam Ferguson, Chief Executive of EDM Group commented:
“This acquisition is another great example of our ambition to continue to grow our business and provides us with an established presence within London from which we can further develop our advanced service offering in the capital.”
Alex Clark, Investment Director LDC, added:
“Since acquiring a significant stake in EDM Group in September last year, we are delighted that the management team has already demonstrated their ability to deliver acquisitive as well as organic growth.
“The successful completion of another high-quality acquisition reflects our belief that there is real scope to build the company and going forward, we will continue to work closely with the team to identify further acquisition opportunities to support EDM’s buy and build strategy alongside continuing to support management in their exciting organic growth plan.”
EDM Group’s growing customer base includes Avis Budget EMEA Ltd, Nationwide Building Society, Companies House, Legal & General, Grant Thornton and numerous healthcare providers including NHS Trusts, Bupa and BMI hospitals.
Merger & acquisition timeline which, in aggregate, represents the EDM Group as it stands today:
- January 2012: EDM Group acquires Filing Plus
- September 2011: EDM Group and Sala International merge
- September 2011: LDC invest in EDM Group
- March 2011: Sala International acquires Arrow Imaging
- March 2011: Sala International acquires Microstat
- December 2010: LDC acquires a majority stake in Sala International
Issued on behalf of LDC by Citypress.
Press information:
For LDC contact: Katie Dale, Citypress: T. 0121 230 1783; E. katie.dale@citypress.co.uk
For EDM Group contact: Jo Dain, Cognition Agency T: 01926 330800; E: jo.d@cognitionagency.co.uk