Shutters come down on Exertis AV

Exertis AV will bring the shutters down on the business this weekend with it ceasing trade from next Monday, bringing to a close decades of trading in audio visual and comms products.

The latest move adds to a growing list of negative milestones that have occurred since DCC sold the bulk of the Exertis business, minus the enterprise operation in the UK and some other European units, to private equity player Aurelius.

The deal struck with Aurelius back in July 2025 put a total enterprise value of £100m on a cash-free, debt-free and normalised working capital basis. In the year ending 31 March 2025, the business recorded revenue of £2bn.

That deal saw the sale of Exertis IT operations across UK&I, comprising of Exertis UK&I Business and Consumer, Hypertec, Exertis Supplies, Exertis Ireland, Macro EV, Exertis Supply Chain Services, MTR and Ztorm.

In the seven months since the deal was closed, there have been executive departures, restructuring that included putting some staff on notice, and the sale last month of Exertis Supplies to evo to come under its Vow business.

In a post on social media, Exertis AV confirmed that it was closing the business and shared images of staff in happier times.

“We are sad to announce the closure of Exertis AV from 1 March 2026,” the post stated. “We’d like to thank you all for being part of the Exertis AV story. Over the years, we built a strong and respected presence in the UK market, delivering innovative audio-visual solutions, supporting complex projects and working in close partnership with customers, vendors and integrators.

“We are immensely proud of what we achieved as an award-winning distributor, from the growth of our portfolio and technical capability to the trusted relationships formed across the industry. None of this would have been possible without your continued support,” it concluded.

Comments generated by the post displayed sympathy from those who had worked with the distributor over the years, stating that they regretted the closure decision.

The tone of the social media post echoes ones that have come from elsewhere in the Exertis business, with the redundancy consultation and sale to evo being recent examples.

A couple of weeks ago, the Exertis Supplies team took to social media to share a similarly sad post after the deal with evo was concluded.

“To all our customers, suppliers and partners, thank you for your support, time and partnerships, especially over the past few months where your patience and compassion has shone through as the team have navigated what has been an extremely tough period,” it stated.

“Without you, we would not have grown from the ink and toner distributor we were in the 90s to the wholesaler we finished as today. To all staff old and new, the people who made it happen, you are and always will be part of the Exertis Supplies family,” it added.

Aurelius was contacted for a statement but it indicated that it did not comment about businesses in its portfolio.