Lyceum Capital has led a £32.2 million acquisition of the facilities management (FM) division of AIM-listed Johnson Service Group.
The transaction includes SGP Property & Facilities Management (SGP), an independent provider of FM supply chain services.
The deal sees the lower mid-market investor back a new management team to drive the company’s expansion in its existing and new growth sectors, as well as further develop its suite of services.
Established in its current form in 2007, SGP supplies a range of managed facilities and property services under long-term contracts to its blue chip client base across the healthcare, education, corporate and retail sectors.
The business’ property services include service charge and business rate advisory and technical and environmental consultancy relating to construction design, energy usage and building fit-out, refurbishment and relocation.
Gerry Higgins and Martin Holt will lead the management team and have been appointed chairman and chief executive of SGP respectively.
Higgins was the chairman of former Lyceum Capital portfolio company M&C Energy, helping it to grow headcount from 370 to 500 in just over two years.
Holt has extensive industry experience having led the merger of MITIE Engineering Maintenance with Dalkia FM, increasing the combined business’ revenue by more than 40 per cent over the following three years.
The management team will work closely with Lyceum to target growth vertical sectors, while further developing the company’s strong technology platform and adding to its broad range of services.
The FM division of Johnson Service Group, which comprises SGP and other businesses which are also included in the acquisition, is expected to generate EBITDA of £5.3 million in its current financial year (ending 31 December 2013).
Lyceum founding partner Jeremy Hand, who will also join the company’s board, says, ‘SGP has a strong reputation for providing high quality, independent services that represent excellent value for its clients. We are excited to be backing such an experienced management team and look forward to working with them to help build SGP’s market presence and capability both organically and through targeted acquisitions.’
Martin Holt, chief executive of SGP adds, ‘Organisations with large and complex property portfolios are increasingly seeking to appoint a single, reliable point of contact for all of their FM requirements with a view to delivering cost savings and operational efficiencies.
‘This is an exciting opportunity to redefine what good looks like in the industry. SGP offers a technology enabled platform with the potential to provide strong, proactive, transparent and independent governance for clients.’
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