Dealmakers advise Restore on acquisition of outsourcer EDM Group
Information and data management services firm Restore has acquired digital services and records firm EDM Group. The deal, which is reportedly worth £61 million, was advised upon by a number of professional services firms.
Restore is a supplier of integrated information and data management services, providing physical and virtual data storage, digitisation and automation of data, among other services to clients in the private and public sector.
As it seeks to bolster its offering, the company has secured a deal to acquire a Midlands based data firm. Founded in 1974, EDM is a leading information management solutions business, providing solutions to large and mid-sized corporates in the financial services, healthcare, insurance and automotive sectors.
Headquartered in Wolverhampton, the company has operations spanning across six sites in the UK, providing records information management, digital mailrooms and digital automation solutions to its customers. EDM’s team of over 430 will now each become part of the Restore Group.
According to a release from Restore on its proposed purchase, digital is one of its core growth segment, with a sizeable UK addressable market of between £250 to £350 million – and which is growing annually at approximately 4% per year. As 74% of EDM’s revenue is derived from digital solutions, the addition of EDM sees Restore’s existing digital business double in size to help tap into this growth, while benefitting EDM by enabling it to operate as a larger platform, and access lucrative cross-selling opportunities through Restore’s wider client base.
Commenting on the acquisition, Charles Bligh, Chief Executive of Restore, said, “Bringing EDM’s scale and capabilities together with ours will deliver even better offerings for customers and build an even stronger UK player in the management of physical and digital data. This acquisition is in line with the growth strategy of the business outlined over the last two years, which is to grow our records management business and to enhance the product portfolio and market share in Restore Digital.”
The acquisition was advised upon by a number of organisations, with Restore receiving investment banking and sole bookrunner services from Peel Hunt; financial advisory from Canaccord Genuity and financial PR from Buchanan Communications. The buy-side team received legal advisory from Fieldfisher.
The Fieldfisher team advising Restore was led by Manchester corporate partner, David Bowcock, who commented, “The need to convert physical records to digital format remains a business critical issue in many sectors, even more so since the pandemic, and we continue to support Restore in its strategy to consolidate document management service providers within the digital arm of its business.”
Restore’s move for EDM is consistent with the group's strategic priorities to expand its business through acquisitions, underpinned by organic growth. This is emphasised by Restore’s recent announcement of a placing to raise approximately £40 million before expenses to reduce the group’s debt and to fund working capital and potential deals.
