Channel surges onto private equity high-growth list

A range of industry firms make the cut on the Sunday Times Buyout Track 2012 list

A clutch of channel players feature prominently on the Buyout Track rundown of the UK's most profitable private equity-backed firms.

The Sunday Times publication ranks 100 firms that are wholly or partly owned by private equity backers based on annualised EBITDA growth over the last three years. Heading the list this year is life assurance firm Partnership. The company's profits have grown by an average of 346.4 per cent per annum to £36.9m in 2010/11.

Visual effects software developer The Foundry snuck into the top 10, while outsourcing outfit Parseq placed 15th. IT services firm FDM Group took 18th spot, with annualised EBITDA growth of 73.8 per cent over the last three years.

In 21st place was one of the channel's biggest operators: Kelway. In the past three years, the London reseller, which is 26 per cent owned by Core Capital, has seen profits grow about 67 per cent annually, with 2010/11 EBIDTA stretching to £11.7m.

Telecoms services company XLN took 24th spot in the 2012 Buyout Track rundown, while networking services firm Wireless Logic is in 31st. Software consultancy Access has grown EBITDA by 43 per cent annually to £5.5m and takes 47th position.

Rounding out the top 50 is integrator 2e2. Its EBITDA has swelled by more than 40 per cent per annum in the last three years to a current level of £34.2m.

Further down the list, managed services firm Esteem took 65th spot, while Attenda, another services outfit, placed 77th. Telecoms service provider TTG nabbed 84th position.

One place below is Danwood Group, the UK's biggest print reseller. The firm, which is two-fifths-owned by Bregal Capital, has grown EBITDA by more than 25 per cent annually in the past three years to its current level of £21.2m.