EDM, which has also secured the backing of its bankers HSBC following a review earlier this year, said that private equity firm ECI was also committed to making funds available to the group for future acquisitions.

ECI's support is being seen as an endorsement of the growth potential of Wolverhampton-based EDM, which has a portfolio of services that require little or no capital expenditure and that can show ROI in under a year, according to the company.

ECI Partners' John Hayhurst, said: "Organisations are looking for innovative solutions to the problems of reducing operating costs while providing step changes in efficiency and service. They also require rapid ROI.

"EDM Group's range of outsourcing services supported by their use of technology offers those solutions right now, and ECI Partners is pleased to support their plans for growth."

EDM Group chief executive Sam Ferguson added: "This is good news for EDM Group and a clear endorsement of the relevance of our range of services and solutions to the challenges facing businesses in the UK today.

"This investment will allow us to complete the process of evolution from provider of commodity document management services to technology-based paperless solutions delivered from our new state of the art facilities."

EDM's range of outsourced services includes electronic/digital mailrooms, scan on demand, online hosting and business process management. The company aims to improve clients' back office efficiency through removing paper from the process and using technology to reduce the level of human intervention.