The funding is jointly provided by Lloyds Banking Group and LDC, which in January 2011 invested £11.5 million for a majority stake in Sala International, backed a managment team led by new CEO Tomas Gronager.
The acquired firms, Arrow Imaging and Microstat, are both based in the Midlands close to Birmingham and are leaders in their respective fields.
Arrow Imaging is one of the UK's top providers of document management and scanning solutions and has partnerships with major vendors such as Kodak and Fujitsu, while Microstat, also a document management industry specialist, has over 25 years experience and clients such as DHL, Harrods and John Lewis.
The buy and build strategy involves extending Sala’s coverage across the UK and developing an Integrated Records Management outsourcing solution consisting of three main activities that cover the whole life cycle of a document: Archiving, Paper Process Outsourcing (“PPO”) and Destruction.
Arrow Imaging and Microstat are a perfect fit as they considerably enhance Sala’s capabilities in the PPO area, while providing a ‘one stop shop’ solution delivers customer advantages from cost savings, increased efficiencies and the continued innovation of new services.
Founded in 1994, Sala International is a leader in records management, a fast-growing sector expanding at over 10% annually. In the UK the market is estimated to be worth around £6 billion, with the document storage market being worth circa £500 million in annual revenues.
Yann Souillard, Investment Director, LDC London, commented:
“Our philosophy is to back great management teams and the fact that the new team at Sala has completed these acquisitions within two months of our original investment in Sala demonstrates the team’s clear focus on executing on the buy and build strategy. There are more acquisitions in the pipeline and we are on track to deliver on the strategy that we set ourselves in January.”
Tomas Gronager, CEO, Sala International, commented:
“The funding package organised by LDC and Lloyds Banking Group was obviously key in allowing us to make our first two acquisitions and it illustrates the benefits of being backed by an organisation like LDC. I am confident that we can deliver on the vision of developing an outstanding integrated records management offer that will see Sala become a truly national and potentially international player and deliver great benefits for clients.”
For further information please contact:
Richard Evans/Lucy Grimble
The Communication Group plc
Tel: 0207 630 1411
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Sala International
Sala International is one of the UK leaders in record management and was established in 1994. The company provides physical record and digital information storage facilities and services. Sala manages in excess of 400,000 square feet of secure space and stores 1.5 million boxes including 50 miles of live filing on behalf of its prestigious client base.
Over 200 public and private sector organisations trust the care and management of over 30 million documents to Sala, which also manages over 10 million 'live' records (open files where documents can be inserted/removed).
Sala International operates in a wide range of sectors, including Financial Services, Public Sector, Healthcare Support Services and Retail. In the private sector it has a number of blue-chip corporate clients, while in the broad public sector it acts for major councils, NHS Trusts and broadcast organisations.
The company is a member of AIIM and the Records Management Society of Great Britain.
www.sala-international.co.uk