Iron Mountain’s legacy business in Australia will operate as ZircoDATA Pty Ltd following approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for the purchase of the domestic records and information management business by a consortium of experienced industry investors – Housatonic Partners and Dennis E. Barnedt.

Under the terms of the purchase agreement, which is expected to close on 31 October 2016, the newly-branded ZircoDATA will operate as a standalone going concern, with the business’ existing team continuing to service the company’s national client base using its extensive network of systems and intellectual property. ZircoDATA has 18 facilities and a workforce of more than 300, and will continue to be led by Managing Director, Wes Gleeson.

ZircoDATA’s ownership comprises a combination of highly-experienced industry operators and sophisticated investors – including Mr Barnedt. In partnership with Housatonic Partners, Dennis is a key player in the global records and information management industry, having founded, acquired, managed and developed leading companies in the sector across the United States and Europe.

Mr Barnedt, who will relocate to Melbourne in his role as Executive Chairman of ZircoDATA, said the decision to purchase the majority of Iron Mountain’s legacy Australian operations was “driven by the opportunity to acquire an established, well run and profitable business with a reputation as a leader in the Australian market.”

Mr Gleeson said the team’s customer-focused approach was a key factor in its success and would continue while the business transitions to the new brand name.

“We’ll continue servicing our strong client base to the level to which they’re accustomed,while looking to drive further growth as a fresh name on the domestic landscape”, he said.

“We’re the same business, with the same great team and we’ve got the backing to keep building our suite of services for the benefit of our customers. In the meantime, we’re working through the process of introducing the ZircoDATA brand to the market, including our soon-to-be rebranded website and other assets”, said Mr Gleeson.

 “Our core business is very strong in physical records management and the industry still has a long horizon in this area, however, we recognise the shift to digitisation and how our customers create, use and store their information,” said Mr Gleeson.

“In terms of the future of the industry, it’s about the broader management of information, and that includes both hard copy and digital information.  However, we will be very assertively entering back into the data protection market, and establishing that as part of our full product suite including traditional records management.”

“We have terrific capability in our imaging bureau for data capture and OCR, and we will continue to leverage that.  But we’re also going to broaden out our thinking and offering around digital backup, cloud storage of data, and potentially other adjacent products and services that sit around information management” said Mr Gleeson.

Executive Chairman Dennis E. Barnedt confirmed his interest in seeking further growth in Australia and the region through new acquisitions. Mr Barnedt will be relocating to Australia after spending seven years in Europe to expand his companies’ operations there. “I’m committed to building our business in the region. This acquisition was the right one for us and provides a very strong base for our growth plans” said Mr Barnedt.