Gresham sells 2e2 for £130m

Gresham, the UK mid-market private equity firm, today announces that it has successfully exited 2e2 through the sale of the business to Duke Street Capital for £130m. Gresham made a return of 3.6 times its investment.

2e2 is a leading IT services provider offering IT infrastructure, maintenance, networking, education and other managed services. The business was established in 2002 by chief executive Terry Burt and chief operating officer Mark McVeigh and today has over 1,200 employees.

Gresham backed the business in July 2003 in an ambitious buy and build strategy. 2e2 has made 9 acquisitions in the past 3 years including the offshore IT services division of XKO plc, Prime Business Solutions and TBS, the UK-based IT services arm of Telenor. During this period group revenues have increased from £15m in 2003 to a forecast level of £155m this year.

The existing management team is remaining with the Group and is committed to maintaining 2e2’s excellent track record.

Paul Canning, Director at Gresham, comments: “The team behind 2e2 is outstanding and the business is superbly placed to continue its success with Duke Street Capital as its funding partner. We have been delighted with our investment in 2e2.”

The sale of 2e2 is the latest in a series of successful exits for Gresham including the sale of Alstec to Babcock International Group Plc; the sale of Altair to GE Energy; and the sale of ANSA to Mavinwood Plc.