Lancashire security equipment distributor acquired by sales director

A Lancashire-based supplier of security and data equipment has been acquired by its sales director through a management buyout.

- By Joel Durkin Contributor

Quality Essential Distributions (QED), formed in 1997, is based at Walton Summit, Preston and employs around 30 staff. It supplies products such as surveillance cameras and displays, facial recognition systems and data cabinets. Its clients include Mitie Security and ADT Fire and Security.

The business has been acquired by Ian Garden from majority shareholders David Arrowsmith and Ian Smith. The acquisition has been financed through a cash flow term loan and invoice discounting facility provided by HSBC. It provides an exit for the previous owners while allowing Ian to drive further business growth over the coming years.