Member Article

York technology firm in £43m MBO

York-based Technology and software firm, Trustmarque Solutions have undergone a management buyout worth £43m.

Private equity firm Dunedin backed the deal, which saw the business acquired from LDC.

Trustmarque employs 180 people at three sites in York, Bracknell and Edinburgh, and currently serves over 1,200 clients including RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Sainsbury’s and Capita.

Public sector clients include the NHS, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, HMRC, local authorities and NHS trusts throughout England and Wales.

The firm specialises in licensing, deployment and management of technology solutions, helping companies to make better use of their IT resources.

Trustmarque was ranked 54 in the Sunday Times’ 2013 league of the best small companies to work for in the UK, and CEO Scott Haddow, was recently shortlisted for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Mark Ligertwood, partner at Dunedin commented: “We are pleased to be investing in Trustmarque, a highly successful market-leader with a clearly positioned brand and an exceptional reputation within both the commercial and public sectors. The UK market for software and IT services is currently worth an estimated £40bn and is expected to grow at 2%-5% to 2016. The UK’s IT market is second only in size to that of the US and Japan and the growth opportunities are significant as private and public organisations invest in the latest products to increase business efficiency.

“Trustmarque has earned extensive market recognition for its performance to date and this is very much to the credit of its first class management team. We share their vision for the continued transformation of the business and look forward to working with them.”

Scott Haddow, CEO of Trustmarque added: “Dunedin’s investment is a key milestone in the evolution of the business. Trustmarque has developed significantly over the last four years. Our ambition now is to cement our position as an independent end-to-end technology services provider and the trusted adviser of choice for blue chip and large government enterprises.

“Dunedin took the time to understand our business, the journey we are undertaking and our long term goals. They share our passion and drive and recognise the opportunities that lie ahead. Dunedin’s DebtBridgeTM product meant that the deal could get done quickly, while ensuring certainty of delivery to everyone involved.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .