re-tek
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersEast Kilbride, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What re-tek does
Re-Tek UK Ltd, rebranded as Circular IT group effective 1 January 2025, is a UK-based IT Asset Disposal (ITAD) and circular economy services firm founded in 1995/1996. Headquartered in East Kilbride, Scotland, with a southern office in Bristol, the company provides end-to-end IT lifecycle management to public sector bodies, local authorities, corporate enterprises, and educational institutions across the UK and — via a global partner network — internationally. Core offerings comprise secure data erasure using NCSC-certified Blancco software with per-drive verification logs, WEEE recycling, on-site and off-site secure shredding, decommissioning, GPS-tracked secure logistics with two-man security-cleared teams, refurbishment and redeployment, and the 4,500 sq ft Volume Build Centre capable of configuring more than 3,000 devices per week for imaging, asset tagging, BIOS configuration, deployment, and MDM enrolment. A sub-brand, Lease-Tek, leases high-specification refurbished equipment to SMEs and charities on a subscription basis with no upfront cost.
The business model is anchored on a revenue-sharing structure: in approximately 90% of engagements, the customer bears no charge for asset retirement services, with realised resale value offsetting logistics, data destruction, and processing costs. Re-Tek refurbishes more than 85% of equipment received, which is well above typical industry averages; reported throughput includes 160,000+ units refurbished in 2015 and approximately 140,000 ICT units re-used annually in 2017 — equivalent to roughly 26,600 tonnes of CO2eq avoided. The East Kilbride facility runs on roughly 70% renewable energy sourced from a 60kW biomass furnace and a 45kW solar array. The firm holds a dense regulatory stack — ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ADISA ITAD Essentials (Distinction), CAS-S, SEPA AATF, ICO registration, NCSC IAS5 data erasure approval, Cyber Essentials, and Blancco's £10m per-drive erasure insurance — which collectively constitutes a substantive barrier to entry for handling government and enterprise data-bearing assets.
The go-to-market approach is enterprise field sales targeting large organisations and public-sector bodies, supplemented by partnership referrals, an online collection-booking portal, and a global partner network for international coverage. Disclosed customers include the Scottish Government, multiple Scottish and English local authorities (Falkirk, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, East Ayrshire, East Sussex), educational establishments (Perth College UHI, Unite Students), and charities (Social Bite, Strathcarron Hospice, The Turing Trust, ng2). Marketing leverage rests on direct sales engagement, referral partners, and brand recognition through industry awards including Green Apple Environment Awards, Business Insider 'Remade in Scotland', CeeD Scotland Sustainability Award, VIBES finalist status, and World Economic Forum Davos recognition.
re-tek firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- re-tek
- Legal name
- Re-Tek UK Ltd
- Website
- https://re-tek.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
re-tek industry classification
Industry- Product category
- IT Asset Disposal and Lifecycle Services
- NAICS
- Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (81121), Waste Management and Remediation Services (562), Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (811210)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Repair Services (7600), Hazardous Waste Management (4955), Services-Computer Rental & Leasing (7377)
- akta.pro primary industry
- IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) Services (Data-Bearing Asset Handling) (BPALAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data Destruction Services (On-site/Off-site, Media Sanitization) (BPALAIAC), Electronics Refurbishment, Repair & Reuse (Remarketing/Resale) (BPALAIAD), Reuse & Resale / Recommerce Operations (EUAIANAC), IT Asset Lifecycle Services (Procure-to-Retire) (BPAEAOAF)
Keywords
Where re-tek is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- East Kilbride
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
re-tek business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- IT Asset Resale and Remarketing: Re-Tek refurbishes and resells IT equipment through a global network of established retailers. Expert re-marketing processes maximize the quantity of customer equipment diverted from recycling and sold on. In 90% of cases, no charges are borne by the customer as the value of the kit covers all services and provides a financial return.
- ITAD Services (Data Erasure, Decommissioning, Recycling): Comprehensive IT Asset Disposal services including secure data erasure, decommissioning, WEEE recycling, secure shredding, and secure logistics. Services provided at no upfront cost to customers when equipment value covers services.
- IT Configuration and Deployment Services: Volume Build Centre services including imaging, system configuration, asset tagging, unboxing/repackaging, deployment, and MDM enrolment for new IT assets.
- Lease-Tek Leasing Service: UK's first leasing service enabling organisations to lease high specification refurbished equipment. Designed for SMEs and charities with no up-front costs, technical support line and low monthly fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | No upfront cost model with revenue sharing |
| Subscription | Monthly | Lease-Tek monthly leasing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
re-tek product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Re-Tek is a UK IT Asset Disposal (ITAD) and IT lifecycle management services company that collects, secures, erases, refurbishes, remarkets, recycles, and physically destroys end-of-life IT assets for organisations across the UK, Europe, and globally through partner resellers. It bundles secure logistics, NCSC-certified data erasure, WEEE-compliant recycling, decommissioning, on-site data erasure, secure shredding, and re-deployment into a single circular-economy offering, supported by an in-house Volume Build Centre capable of configuring over 3,000 devices per week and a Lease-Tek subscription for leasing refurbished hardware. In 90% of cases, equipment residual value covers all services with no upfront cost to the customer.
Product overview
Re-Tek is an IT lifecycle management services company offering a unified portfolio of IT Asset Disposal (ITAD) services. The core offering centers on Secure Data Erasure, IT Asset Re-Sale & Reporting, WEEE Recycling, Secure Shredding, Decommissioning, Secure Logistics, On-Site Data Erasure, and Re-Furbishment & Re-Deployment services. Supporting these are the Volume Build Centre (VBC) for IT configuration (capable of 3,000+ units/week), Infrastructure Management, Pre-Stage, and Deliver & Deploy services. A sub-brand, Lease-Tek, provides leasing of refurbished equipment. Services are delivered from the company's renewable-powered facility in Glasgow, with a global partner network. The company rebranded as Circular IT group from January 2025.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lease-Tek: The UK's first leasing service that enables organisations to lease high specification, refurbished equipment. Service ideally suited for SMEs and charities with no up-front costs, access to a technical support line and low monthly fees.
Products and services
- Secure Data Erasure Government-approved, NCSC-certified data erasure service using Blancco software to erase hard drives, SSDs, and mobile phones with full verification and individual wipe logs. Targeted at organisations retiring IT assets that require auditable, certified data sanitisation.
- IT Asset Re-Sale & Reporting Expert refurbishment and remarketing service that generates revenue for customers from retired IT assets, with full asset management reporting including traceability of every action taken on every asset (job collection number, equipment type, manufacturer, model, serial number, customer asset number, specification, drive serial number, drive wipe status).
- WEEE Recycling WEEE recycling service for IT equipment too old or in poor condition for refurbishment, performed under SEPA AATF licensing, including NCSC-approved data destruction and secure storage until shipment to accredited recycling partners.
- Secure Shredding Certified on-site HDD shredding service down to 6mm shred size, suitable for all formats of HDD, USB sticks, mobile phones and tablets, performed by two trained and vetted personnel.
- Decommissioning Full range of decommissioning services for datacentre relocations, closures, and upgrades, including information preparation, asset preparation, decommissioning, removal, and electrical-based decommissioning.
- Data Security Services Comprehensive data security services for IT asset disposal, including NCSC-approved data wiping, ADISA IT Disposal standard certification, and support for GDPR compliance.
- Secure Logistics Secure collection and transportation service using two-man security-cleared teams, hard-sided vehicles with GPS and GSM tracking, and secure cages for data-bearing assets during transit.
- On-Site Data Erasure CESG certified on-site data erasure service using NCSC-certified Blancco software, allowing data destruction within customer premises while leaving the HDD intact for refurbishment and resale.
- Re-Furbishment and Re-Deployment Managed IT refurbishment and redeployment service enabling organisations to re-allocate higher specification assets across departments or extend equipment lifecycle before final retirement.
- Volume Build Centre (VBC) IT configuration service centre housed in a 4,500 sq. ft. mezzanine facility capable of processing over 3,000 units per week, offering asset tagging, imaging, system configuration, BIOS setup, deployment, packaging removal, and MDM enrolment for new IT assets.
- Lease-Tek Subscription leasing service for high-specification refurbished IT equipment, targeted at UK SMEs and charities with no up-front costs, low monthly fees, and access to a technical support line.
- Infrastructure Management IT strategy planning services covering back-end and user hardware, operating systems, and data security, including planning, testing, and integration of new technologies across the IT lifecycle.
- Asset Retirement & Relocation Award-winning IT Asset Disposal service covering decommissioning, data erasure, asset re-use, relocation, and recycling of end-of-life IT estates for enterprise customers.
- Pre-Stage New IT asset preparation service including imaging, tagging, BIOS configuration, and set-up so that new devices arrive ready for immediate use by end users.
- Deliver & Deploy IT asset delivery, installation, and set-up service for any size deployment, including end-user training and packaging removal.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reuse rate of 85%+ of all equipment received
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use re-tek
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
re-tek technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
re-tek partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- BlanccocoreBlancco is the NCSC-certified data erasure software used by Re-Tek for all hard drives, SSDs, and mobile phones. Blancco provides full data eradication with verification and individual wipe logs. Re-Tek engineers are Blancco trained for NCSC IAS5 Lower and Higher Level Data Erasures. Blancco also provides a £10m per drive insurance policy backing the erasure process.
- HPminorHP Preferred Partner status since 2013, indicating established relationship for HP equipment processing and resale.
- WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme)coreEU Life funded research project managed by WRAP partnering with University of the West of Scotland and Enscape Consulting. Research on recovering critical raw materials and precious metals from IT equipment using innovative chemical, biological and electro-chemical methods.
- University of the West of ScotlandcoreResearch partner in EU Life project for critical raw material recovery from IT equipment. Two rare earth elements were recovered during the research project.
- Enscape Consulting LtdcoreLong-term project partner for TechKnow educational project, circular economy initiatives, and research projects including EU Life critical raw materials recovery project.
- Zero Waste ScotlandcoreRecognised by Zero Waste Scotland for best-in-class circular economy business model. Partner on consumer ICT collection pilot projects and sustainability initiatives. Supported Re-Tek's recognition by European Commission.
- LAMH RecyclingminorPartner for redirecting small electrical items (microwaves, toasters, kettles) to vulnerable community members after PAT testing.
- SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency)coreSEPA AATF (Approved Authorised Treatment Facility) status and waste carrier license. Demonstrates environmental compliance and authorization for WEEE processing.
- ADiSAcoreADISA ITAD Essentials Certification. Re-Tek has been consistently certified with a 'Distinction' pass against the ADISA IT Disposal standard since first audit.
- NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre)coreNCSC certified data erasure software. NCSC is the information security arm of GCHQ and the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance.
- ICO (Information Commissioner's Office)coreICO Registration Certificate holder, demonstrating compliance with data protection requirements.
- Ellen MacArthur FoundationcoreRe-Tek is a member of the SME regional CE100, a global platform bringing together leading companies to accelerate the circular economy. Re-Tek's incentivised return business model has been recognised as an example of best practice by the foundation.
- The Turing TrustminorCharity partnership where Re-Tek donates refurbished IT equipment to support education and IT training in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Social BiteminorPartnership with homeless charity in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Donated 100 products, 20 mobile phones, and laptops for digital inclusion program across their sandwich stores.
- Routes to Work SouthminorEmployment partnership supporting South Lanarkshire's long-term unemployed into further education, training and sustained employment. Re-Tek has hired 12 new employees through this partnership.
- Scottish GovernmentcoreAsset management services for internal ICT at Saughton House. Re-Tek helps Scottish Government reduce environmental impact by keeping ICT in circulation.
- ISO Registrars (Accreditation Bodies)coreISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management), ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management), ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) certifications maintained.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
re-tek competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Computer Disposal Limited: UK-based IT Asset Disposal and data destruction specialist serving enterprise and public sector customers. Closely comparable UK-focused ITAD and refurbishment peer to Re-Tek.
- Sims Lifecycle Services: Global IT Asset Disposal services business offering secure data destruction, asset recovery and remarketing to enterprise and public sector customers. Directly comparable to Re-Tek's core ITAD, data erasure, refurbishment and remarketing offering at much larger scale.
- S2S Group: UK ITAD, secure data destruction and refurbished IT equipment provider serving enterprise, public sector and education customers. Closely comparable lifecycle services peer including reuse and resale of end-of-life equipment.
- Dataserv: Global IT Asset Disposition and reverse logistics provider offering data destruction, refurbishment, redeployment and resale services. Comparable ITAD and circular-economy service model to Re-Tek with broader geographic footprint.
- Eco IT Solutions: UK ITAD and e-waste recycling company providing secure data destruction, asset recovery and WEEE recycling for corporate customers. Directly comparable service mix and target customer profile to Re-Tek.
- Tier 1 Asset Management: UK IT asset management and disposal firm offering secure data destruction, refurbishment, remarketing and redeployment services. Comparable regional ITAD peer focused on enterprise and public sector customers in the UK.
Others
- Blancco Technology Group: Provider of NCSC-certified data erasure software (Blancco Drive Eraser) used by Re-Tek under a core technology partnership for secure data destruction. Comparable as the underlying technology enabler for Re-Tek's certified data sanitization services.
- HP Renew / HP Refurbished PCs: HP's own factory-refurbished PC and resale program. Indirectly comparable as a competitor and supplier in Re-Tek's refurbishment and remarketing flow — HP is both a manufacturer supplying refurbished-grade assets and a partner through Re-Tek's HP Preferred Partner status.
Broad incumbents
- Iron Mountain (Asset Lifecycle Management / ITAD): Global records and information management incumbent with a substantial IT asset disposition business (data destruction, decommissioning, refurbishment). Overlaps with Re-Tek's enterprise and regulated ITAD services but operates as part of a much broader storage and records portfolio.
- Veolia UK (Environmental Services / ITAD): Major waste management and environmental services incumbent with a UK ITAD and e-waste recycling capability. Overlaps with Re-Tek's WEEE recycling, secure logistics and decommissioning offerings but as part of a much broader environmental services portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
re-tek social profiles
Digital presencere-tek compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance13 records
re-tek financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
re-tek leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
re-tek funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
re-tek M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about re-tek
What does re-tek do?
Re-Tek is a UK IT Asset Disposal (ITAD) and IT lifecycle management services company that collects, secures, erases, refurbishes, remarkets, recycles, and physically destroys end-of-life IT assets for organisations across the UK, Europe, and globally through partner resellers. It bundles secure logistics, NCSC-certified data erasure, WEEE-compliant recycling, decommissioning, on-site data erasure, secure shredding, and re-deployment into a single circular-economy offering, supported by an in-house Volume Build Centre capable of configuring over 3,000 devices per week and a Lease-Tek subscription for leasing refurbished hardware. In 90% of cases, equipment residual value covers all services with no upfront cost to the customer.
Is re-tek a public or private company?
re-tek is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was re-tek founded?
re-tek was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is re-tek based?
re-tek is headquartered in East Kilbride, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does re-tek make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. IT Asset Resale and Remarketing is the primary driver. The others are ITAD Services (Data Erasure, Decommissioning, Recycling), IT Configuration and Deployment Services and lease-Tek Leasing Service.
Who are re-tek's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Computer Disposal Limited, Sims Lifecycle Services, S2S Group, Dataserv, Eco IT Solutions and Tier 1 Asset Management. Others are Blancco Technology Group and HP Renew / HP Refurbished PCs. Broad incumbents are Iron Mountain (Asset Lifecycle Management / ITAD) and Veolia UK (Environmental Services / ITAD).
Does re-tek have an API?
No public API is recorded for re-tek.
What industry is re-tek in?
re-tek's product category is IT Asset Disposal and Lifecycle Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPALAIAA, IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) Services (Data-Bearing Asset Handling), with a secondary code of BPALAIAC, Data Destruction Services (On-site/Off-site, Media Sanitization). Its NAICS code is 81121 and its SIC code is 7600.