Environmental consultancy SLR, in which private equity investor 3i holds a minority stake, is mooting a ‘potential IPO in 2012’ after acquiring Australian firm Heggies.
David Richards, chief executive of Oxford-based SLR, says the company has ‘further potential acquisitions in the pipeline’ and may conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in two years’ time.
The purchase of Heggies allows SLR, which employs 750 staff in the UK, Ireland and North America of whom about one-third are share or option holders, to expand its geographical reach with the addition of the acquired company’s 130 employees in Australia and Singapore.
It also deepens the company’s expertise in Heggies’ core sectors of infrastructure, natural resources and land development. The Australian firm has consulted on Sydney Harbour Bridge (pictured), among other projects.
Both companies are profitable, with SLR announcing pre-tax profits of £8.9 million on sales of £54.6 million in its latest results, and Heggies generating earnings of A$2.3 million (£1.3 million) on turnover of A$19.3 million.
The acquisition follows hot on the heels of SLR’s purchase of Andrew McCarthy Associates, a smaller UK-based ecological consultant. The two transactions are said to have cost SLR in the region of £12 million, while the company has a further £20 million ear-marked for deals.
3i bought its minority stake in SLR from outgoing shareholder ISIS Private Equity in 2008.
