Edotech has bought Barclays' in-house documents business in a buyout deal backed by Barclays Private Equity.

Gloucester-based Edotech was responsible for supplying Barclays' bills and statements, including those for Barclaycard. Sam Ferguson, chief executive of Edotech, said the buyout would give him freedom to pursue contracts from third parties. "It is much easier for us to be masters of our own destiny and not be contained by Barclays," he commented.

Barclays has awarded the company a five-year contract to continue providing customer bills and statements that is thought to be worth up to £200m.

Annual sales at Edotech are £45m but Ferguson expects this to rise sharply once the company begins negotiations in the outsourcing market. The company is targeting financial services, utilities and telephony groups, and already has contracts lined up.

Simon Henderson, who led the transaction for Barclays Private Equity and will join the Edotech board as a non-executive director, said the deal was the first of its kind in the banking sector. The company is already profitable, so from the private-equity firm's perspective the decision to back the company was an easy sell.

Henderson said there was a two-stage plan to grow the business. Eventually it would be able to deliver statements and bills electronically as well as on paper. He said: "Stage one is paper - the company will turn to multi-customers to outsource document design, production, storage and distribution. Under stage two Edotech will become a multi-media delivery partner."

Anna Lagerkvist