2025 has been a big year for growth and celebration at Aspire.
We’ve achieved a record-breaking year, surpassing our £50m revenue milestone two years early.
We’ve won Technology Business of the Year at The Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards.
We’ve even become one of only 16 North East businesses to be awarded a Royal Warrant, in recognition of our services to the Royal Household.
But before 2025 comes to an end, today marks yet another huge milestone for Aspire, as we announce that we have secured a new round of investment from our lead investor LDC, to accelerate our ongoing expansion and support our future acquisition strategy.
LDC has reinvested for a significant minority alongside new minority co-investor Federated Hermes. In the three years since LDC’s original investment in 2022, we have delivered strong and sustained growth, with revenue up 158% and headcount increasing 55%. We have also expanded our UK reach and completed two strategic acquisitions. This latest investment positions us to accelerate our plans and advance toward our £100 million revenue target for 2030.
This financial year we expect to achieve £71.2 million revenue and £13.5 million EBITDA, underlining the strength of our growth trajectory.
Our growth since LDC’s 2022 investment reflects both our strong organic growth and our notable M&A capabilities. As a business we have grown well beyond our North East roots, establishing a strong national footprint. Our acquisition of Glasgow-based Cloud Cover IT in 2023 and Leeds-based CloudCoCo in 2024, have added more than £10 million in revenue and created new regional hubs that support further national scale.
Aspire now employs over 300 experts across the UK, with our offices now located in Gateshead, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Stockton.
The value of the business has risen from £85 million in 2022 to £192 million today. This growth has been underpinned by continued investment in core infrastructure, including private cloud, network enhancement and AI-powered tooling. Customer satisfaction remains exceptionally high, with a Net Promoter Score of 87.2.
“This investment marks an important new phase for Aspire. Our growth has always been driven by a clear focus on our customers and on delivering innovative solutions with exceptional service. That focus has set us apart and it remains the foundation of everything we do.”
“LDC has supported our ambition since 2022 and their continued partnership as a lead investor, now alongside Federated Hermes, gives us the platform to move forward with confidence. Our direction is clear. We will continue to scale through sustained organic growth and customer focus. This investment enables us to further strengthen our capability and deliver across the UK. We see significant opportunity ahead and we are committed to growing in a way that brings customers even greater value, service and security.”
Chris Fraser
CEO and Founder – Aspire Technology Solutions
The transaction was led by LDC’s Gareth Marshall, Partner and Head of North East and Scotland and Investment Manager Emma Borrie.
“Since our initial investment, Aspire has more than doubled in size while successfully integrating two complementary acquisitions and maintaining the customer service standards that set them apart in the market. The organic growth rates they’re achieving are genuinely market-leading for the sector.
“As lead investor, we’re excited to continue to support Chris and his team through this next phase. With Federated Hermes joining as a co-investor, Aspire has the platform to pursue both organic expansion and a more active M&A strategy in a market where demand for managed IT and cyber security services shows no sign of slowing.”
Gareth Marshall
Partner and Head of North East and Scotland – LDC
As part of the transaction, Tim Hipperson steps down as Non-Executive Chair after three years of significant contribution during Aspire’s first private equity phase. Chris Fraser commented: “Tim has played a key role in accelerating Aspire’s growth trajectory over the last few years, completing this second investment round is a testament to the strength of the team he has helped develop.”
David Murray will join Aspire as Non-Executive Chair, bringing more than 30 years of experience in supporting technology business growth.
LDC was advised by Clearwater (corporate finance and debt advisory), Womble Bond Dickinson (legal) and KPMG (tax).
Management was advised by Muckle (legal) and BDO (FDD/tax).
Federated Hermes was advised by Morgan Lewis (legal) and Alvarez & Marsal (tax).
Debt financing for the transaction was provided by Five Arrows.
