Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Corporate Finance team in the Central and East region has enjoyed a late summer surge in activity, closing two significant deals on the same day.
The transactions were the sales of JCW, a Hertfordshire- based technical facilities management service provider to Apleona, a German, private equity-backed group, and Hertfordshire-based engineering services and construction firm, JCA Engineering, which was acquired by UK listed company Mitie Group for up to £31.5m.
Financial terms of the JCW sale to Apleona, which was led by Grant Thornton Partner Mike Tillson and Stuart Davies, were undisclosed.
JCW offers a full range of self-delivered hard services through its team of over 250 employees, the majority of whom are qualified technicians. It has a strong nationwide presence with six operating offices serving clients in the retail, education, commercial, leisure and public sectors.
Kurt Hedgley, Managing Director of JCW said: “This is an exciting time for us all at JCW. Together we will have the ability to further enhance our service delivery and expand our client portfolio, ensuring strong organic growth. We are enthusiastic to join the Apleona family and begin working in synergy.”
The sale to Mitie Group of JCA Engineering, which in the year to December 2022 grew revenues by 17% to £71.8m, was led by Richad Loveday and Mike Hughes. The terms of the deal comprise of an initial payment of £21mn and deferred payments of up to £10.5m over three years, linked to performance.
Ian Hodges-Jackson, founder and chairman of Stevenage-based JCA said: “I am proud of my team and the capabilities we have built at JCA Engineering over the past 20 years, alongside our reputation for delivering as principal contractor in critical environments. Given Mitie’s access to a wide range of clients and its ability to finance faster growth, I’m very excited about the next phase of JCA Engineering’s development.”
Partner Mike Tillson said: “The team has worked incredibly hard to deliver great outcomes for our clients. Both JCW and JCA Engineering are now very well-placed to accelerate their strong recent growth as part of much larger entities.
“These two deals prove there is strong appetite from international, PE and UK listed buyers for strong, well-managed and scale-able mid-sized businesses. We look forward to the coming months with confidence after a very busy summer.”
