Built environment consultancy secures PE backing for buy and build plan
Thu, 15 Feb 2024 | BUSINESS NEWS
Contollo Group, a newly formed built environment consultancy group based in Knutsford, has secured private equity backing to fund a UK-focused buy and build growth strategy. NorthEdge has invested in the company to help it meet growing demand for tech-enabled smart buildings, with the investment coming via the NorthEdge SME Fund I.
The company is seeking to build a national professional services platform that will serve clients in an array of sectors as they look to achieve regulatory and sustainability goals in the built environment. Demand for these services is growing, driven by board-level ESG agendas and growing pressure for companies to progress towards Net Zero.
The NorthEdge investment is backing Contollo’s management team, led by Chief Executive Ruth Percival and Executive Chair Oliver Dennis, to build the platform. Percival and Dennis each bring significant experience in M&A and private equity in the professional services industry.
Following the completion of the investment, the group has struck its first acquisition, with a deal for Manchester-based cost management consultancy Abacus. Abacus co-founder Ellis Goodfellow will subsequently join Contollo as the group’s Chief Commercial Officer.
Contollo Group Chief Executive Ruth Percival said that the group’s mission is to build “a market-leading, integrated building consultancy that helps our clients achieve their Net Zero ambitions in the built environment”, adding that the acquisition of Abacus “lays a robust foundation of experience and expertise for further acquisitions and growth."
Executive Chair Oliver Dennis commented: "Alongside completing our first acquisition, we are delighted to be partnering with NorthEdge to support us both financially and strategically on this journey. I am confident that our combined experience will enable us to build a leading UK professional services consultancy that improves sustainable outcomes in the built environment."
NorthEdge director Liam May said that the investment brought together a number of the firm’s focus areas, saying Contollo was an example “of a regionally-based company with national reach”.
May continued: “[O]ur Business Services sector team have been tracking the built environment for a number of years; the investment strategy is highly aligned with our ESG and sustainability commitments; and Contollo represents another buy and build investment in our portfolio following the successful completion of a number of bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate growth across the portfolio over the last decade."
Demand for ESG consultancy services is one of the main driving forces behind environmental and sustainability M&A
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