The management team at an IT and AV equipment rental company has bought the business in a bid to drive its growth.

Hamilton Rentals has been acquired by a team led by managing director Martin O’Connor with the backing of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

O’Connor led the buy-out from IT services specialist 2e2, which bought the company last year as part of its acquisition of Compel. The board accepted the management’s bid as equipment rental is not core to its offering.

“By removing the link to a larger organisation, Hamilton Rentals can now move into channels which may not have been previously open to us,” O’Connor said.

RBS provided more than £9.5 million of debt. Its funding, arranged by Andy Matthews, also provided management with working capital.

Matthews, an associate director of the bank’s structured debt department, said he is backing an experienced and ambitious team. “Hamilton Rentals’ management has come into its own as independent managers of the business following this deal.”

Bracknell-based Hamilton Rentals has been a technology rental firm since 1962 and currently provides PC, server and AV equipment. Its £20 million fleet comprises SUN Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lenovo, and Microsoft products.