NVM initially invested £5 million in 2007 to support a secondary buy-out of Promanex and then went on to provide an additional £3.5 million of funding.

The trade sale values the group’s shares at £16.4 million and represents a total return of 1.6 times on NVM’s combined investment.

James Arrowsmith, NVM director and Promanex board member, tells GrowthBusiness, ‘It had gone through a strong growth phase and we’ve invested along the way to support that.

‘In terms of future expansion, we thought the business was best placed within a larger organisation.’
 

Promanex was established in 1996 and offers facilities management, installation, repair and maintenance, and general asset management in markets such as power, petrochemicals and nuclear.

Mark Dixon, CEO of Promanex, says NVM’s investment allowed the group to take advantage of ‘new market opportunities’.

‘The acquisition is an important step forward to enhance the group’s ability to offer full lifecycle services to customers in the power, nuclear process, hydrocarbons and chemicals, and water markets.’

Berkshire-based Costain, which specialises in engineering solutions, has acquired 100 per cent of the issued share capital of the Warwickshire group.

Generalist investor NVM currently manages £200 million of funds and typically invests between £2 million and £10 million.