The deal was backed by private equity investors Kaye Enterprises, Bridges Ventures and Calculus Capital with debt provided by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Saffery Champness Corporate Finance acted as lead advisors, Jones Day acted for the investors and Osborne Clarke provided legal advice to the management team, which sees the buyout of existing shareholders including 3i for an undisclosed sum.   Triage, the UK’s leading independent provider of repair solutions to the IT industry, was formed as the result of a MBO backed by 3i in 1997 and, with annual turnover of more than £13 million, now employs more than 230 people in Bedfordshire, Manchester, Newport and Wokingham. The business has seen significant growth in specialist maintenance and repair areas, particularly that of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), but also in desktop products and mobile technology items.   The buyout sees the retirement of some founder members of the company, and a new management team of Gary Moinet, Colin Mackrill and Steve Ralph led by Non-Exec Chairman Mike Norris, the Chief Executive of Computacenter, Europe’s leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services.   Commenting, Mike Norris said, “I am pleased to be part of a new team taking the business forward to build on its present strong position to become the market leader in its sector”.   The company has recently invested heavily in its customer services team and functions, with current innovations including a unique web-based reporting system that provides customers with the ability to track their repairs online throughout the repair cycle. Other services include the management of outsourcing solutions, maintenance and testing, systems integration and consultancy services.   Charles Richardson from Kaye commented “We are delighted to have led this secondary buy-out. We believe there are excellent growth opportunities for Triage which has proved itself to be a high quality focused IT services company.” Also commenting, Antony Ross from Bridges Ventures said: “We are very pleased to be investing in a company with strong growth potential and a reputation for excellent service levels that fits well with Bridges’ mission of investing in under-invested areas that can offer good commercial and social returns”.   Charles Simpson, Head of Saffery Champness Corporate Finance said, “This buyout creates value for all parties involved – an exit for its long-term equity backers, a successful realisation for its retiring founders and a platform on which the new management team and investors will be able to build future growth. It’s very satisfying to have helped bring the deal to a smooth and satisfactory conclusion.”

Notes to Editors:

Saffery Champness Corporate Finance Saffery Champness Corporate Finance provides a full corporate finance service generally on transactions with a deal size of between £2 million and £50 million. Recent deals have encompassed acquisitions, disposals, buy-outs, buy-ins, fundraisings and flotations for both privately-owned and listed companies in the UK and internationally. Publicly-quoted clients include fully listed companies, and companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and Plus Markets. Kaye Enterprises Kaye Enterprises has been investing in private equity since the early 1980s. It typically invests between £1m and £5m in smaller management buy-outs, buy-ins, growth capital or equiity release schemes.   Bridges Ventures Bridges Ventures is a venture capital company with a social mission set up in 2002. As an investor, it harnesses its commercial expertise to achieve social aims as well as making the highest possible returns. Bridges Ventures invests in the most deprived 25% of areas in the country, as defined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Bridges Ventures’ second fund can also invest in businesses outside these target areas if they demonstrate strong social benefits in healthcare, education or the environment. Founder investors in Bridges included Sir Ronald Cohen, co-founder and former chairman of Apax Partners, Tom Singh of New Look, 3i and the West Midlands Pension Fund. In addition, the backers of Bridges Ventures’ second fund include HSBC, Citigroup, Doughty Hanson & Co, Barclays Business Banking, All Souls College and a number of family trusts, foundations and individuals. Bridges seeks growth companies at the early and expansion stages, as well as management buy-outs, and property-backed businesses. Total transactions led by Bridges range from £125k as sole investor to being part of a joint investment of £31m.  Entrepreneurs can find out whether their business is eligible for investment by going to the website www.bridgesventures.com or calling 020 7262 5566.   Calculus Capital Calculus Capital, which was founded by Susan McDonald and John Glencross in 1999, specializes in tax based micro-cap private equity investment through its VCT and EIS Funds. It focuses on smaller management buy-outs, pre-IPO funding, expansion capital and acquisition financing. Previous unquoted investments by Calculus Capital’s funds have included Quintus Group, which owns a number of sporting events and other intellectual property in the leisure and entertainment sectors, Cater Plus Services, which provides catering services to retirement homes and the educational sector and energy company, Egdon Resources, which is now AIM quoted. Calculus Capital’s funds have attracted personal investment from fund managers, both long and hedge, investment bankers and other senior City individuals.