Deals

NVM Private Equity has completed a £10m MBO of digital consultancy Trust Systems. 

The Cirencester-headquartered company was launched in 2007 and is led by Tom Stone and Mike Dowson, who will remain significant shareholders in the business. 

Trust Systems has built a loyal customer following in both the retail and transport sectors securing major contracts with many blue chip brands including Aldi, Holland & Barrett, Waterstones and National Express. 

The investment is the eighth from NVM’s Private Equity Vintage III LP Fund and follows the announcement earlier this week of an £18m MBO of facilities management company Pareto FM. 

David Rolfe, who led the investment for NVM, and James Arrowsmith will join the board while experienced Ben Marnham has been appointed as the chair. Marnham previously led and co-invested in the £50m MBO of managed service provider Timico in 2017, where he also served as CEO for two years. 

Webinar: Maximising value from your MBO

Mike Dowson, who is a director of Trust Systems, said:  “Having significantly grown teams and business in the past few years and navigated the incredible challenges brought upon by the pandemic, Trust Systems is now in a fantastic partnership to further increase its market share. Trust Systems is fortunate to have a portfolio of loyal clients, many of whom will benefit from this investment as we continue to increase the teams of talented professionals who support them on a daily basis.” 

David Rolfe, investment partner at NVM, said: “NVM backs great regional businesses led by ambitious management teams and the team at Trust Systems exemplifies the type of people we look to invest in. Mike and Tom have built a strong and rapidly growing business with great potential – we look forward to supporting them as they build even greater market share.” 

‘My regrets at selling my business for millions of pounds’

Trust Systems has a strong reputation in the delivery of enterprise solutions installing networks and performance monitoring with major partners including Ark. 

The company is well placed in the market through a unique offering of consulting, solution design, deployment and in-life management of networks and devices.