Barclays has provided financing to Ethos, the unified communications specialists, to support its acquisition of London Graphic Systems (LGS).

Supported by a term facility from Barclays Corporate Banking, Ethos has made LGS the third acquisition into its managed print business in the last 12 months, following the purchase of Peterborough based Walters in September 2015, and Feltham’s Copiertec in June this year.

Ethos and LGS have been trading for over 20 years, and during that time both organisations have developed a reputation as leaders in their respective fields.

Ethos has established its presence in the market by delivering services across the three main forces of business communications: voice, documents and data. The company is totally independent and partners with leading document and telephone system manufacturers and all network providers, allowing it to offer unbiased advice across the communications spectrum. Ethos provides a range of services depending on individual client needs, and by looking at communications requirements as a whole can deliver substantial cost savings and productivity gains.

With more than 4000 clients already using Ethos to support their communications activity, it is hoped that adding LGS’s expertise in managed print services and content management will allow Ethos to expand its reach yet further. LGS will continue to operate under its own branding as part of the wider Ethos group.

Paul Norris, Group Managing Director at Ethos, said: “I am delighted with the LGS acquisition which considerably enhances our capability within the graphic arts space and brings Ethos' managed print business annualised EBITDA to around £6m.”

Piers Deppe, Relationship Director at Barclays’ Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) team, added: “Ethos’ growth ambition is admirable, and we’re pleased to be able to support its latest acquisition. Unified communications can make a huge difference to the ease with which companies can operate, and through the acquisition of LGS, the team at Ethos have shown that they are determined to do even more for their clients. At Barclays, we’re committed to helping innovative companies grow quickly, and look forward to helping more British firms expand their operations.”