Managed print provider ASL swaps private equity backers

Primary Capital Partners pledges to accelerate M&A

Acquisitive managed print provider ASL Group plans to "accelerate" its M&A under new private equity backers.

Cambridge-based ASL Group has secured investment from Primary Capital Partners following a seven-year stint with Mobeus Equity Partners.

The ‘managed-office services' specialist, which works with Kyocera and Ricoh and is ranked at 177 in CRN's VAR 300, made its tenth acquisition last November in the shape of £5m-revenue rival Geerings Digital.

But new backer Primary has pledged to "accelerate" its M&A activity.

"ASL is a leading operator in a highly fragmented marketplace. Having first met [MD] Mark [Garius] and [group sales director] Paul [Derry] several years ago, we continued to track the business and are delighted to now partner with them," said Primary partner Alec Parkinson.

"Their knowledge of the industry is unparalleled in the UK, and we are excited to work with them and their colleagues to enable the company to accelerate its acquisition strategy and become the pre-eminent independent managed-office services provider."

With a heritage in managed print, ASL now claims to offer UC, software, IT and print to 5,000 UK customers.

"This is an important and significant milestone for ASL that will enable us to continue to grow our business both organically and acquisitively in the market," said Garius.

"Having acquired 10 businesses in the last 10 years, we look forward to the new opportunities that the investment will bring as we continue to drive better business performance for our customers."