H.I.G. Capital Completes Acquisition of Arco

LONDON, Sept. 30, 2026 /CNW/ -- H.I.G. Capital ("H.I.G."), a leading global alternative investment firm with $75 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has acquired Arco Limited ("Arco" or the "Company"), a leading UK distributor of safety equipment.

Arco is the UK's leading distributor of safety equipment and a provider of site safety services, serving the infrastructure, defence, utilities, and healthcare end-markets. Founded in 1884, the Company has built long-standing relationships with a blue-chip, national customer base, underpinned by its significant brand equity, product audit capabilities, and deep safety expertise.

The Company sees an opportunity to support and grow its customer base by expanding its product and service offering, investing in its digital proposition, and pursuing strategic acquisitions of complementary businesses in the UK and abroad. Throughout, the Company will remain focused on safety expertise, customer service, and the highest levels of product reliability and compliance, drawing on over 140 years of experience in the sector.

Guy Bruce, CEO of Arco, commented: "We are delighted to welcome H.I.G. as our new investment partner. Over more than a century, Arco has built its reputation by working closely with customers and providing high-quality products and services that protect the health and safety of their employees. H.I.G. shares our ambition for the business and brings significant experience helping companies grow, both in the UK and internationally. We look forward to working together to invest in our people and capabilities, broaden our product and service offering, and continue delivering the high standards our customers expect from Arco."

Adam Taylor, Managing Director in H.I.G.'s London office, said: "Arco has established a leading position as the UK's foremost experts in safety wear and protective equipment, supported by long-standing, blue-chip customer relationships and a differentiated product and service proposition. Arco is a strong fit with H.I.G.'s strategy of partnering with high-quality businesses where we can use our operational resources, international network, and M&A capabilities to support the next phase of growth. We are excited to be working with the Arco team, and we look forward to supporting the Company's customers with best-in-class products and services."

About Arco

Arco is a leading specialist distributor of safety equipment and provider of safety services in the UK. The Company supplies safety wear, protective equipment, and a range of safety services and training, predominantly to blue-chip, national customers. Arco is headquartered in Hull, with a network of branches across the UK. For more information, please visit arco.co.uk.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global alternative investment firm with $75 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Stamford in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, Dubai, and Hong Kong, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle market companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

• H.I.G.'s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
• H.I.G.'s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets.
• H.I.G.'s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
• H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at hig.com.

*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.

Contact:

Adam Taylor
Managing Director
[email protected]

H.I.G. Capital
10 Grosvenor Street
2nd Floor
London W1K 4QB
United Kingdom
P: [phone]
hig.com

SOURCE H.I.G. Capital