Ipsum Group (Ipsum), backed by Aliter Capital (Aliter), has completed its third bolt-on acquisition – the Scotland, North of England and Midlands-based operations of utilities and infrastructure maintenance, inspection and repair services provider EEG.
The deal excludes EEG’s Andover-based South of England operations.
EEG has a network of strategically located depots, delivering a range of services to the UK utility, facilities management and infrastructure sectors, including drainage maintenance and repair, civil engineering, asset mapping and flood prevention. The investment in EEG will strengthen Ipsum’s existing drainage maintenance services and fleet of specialist vehicles, broaden its geographic footprint and add new blue-chip customer relationships.
This is the third investment that Ipsum has made after the acquisition of CALM in February 2017 and SPEC in January 2018. Together with EEG these investments form part of Ipsum’s broader strategy to create a leading national utilities and infrastructure specialist services provider with coverage across multiple sectors, including utilities, rail, highways, nuclear and renewable energy.
Greg Fernie, CEO of Ipsum Group, says: “I am delighted to welcome EEG into the Ipsum Group. The addition of EEG will significantly increase our presence nationally and allow us to offer a broader range of services to a more diverse customer base.”
Greig Brown, Partner of Aliter and Chairman of Ipsum, says: “Having spent time with the business and management team, it is clear that EEG will complement and strengthen Ipsum’s existing services. Ipsum constantly strives to make progressive investments in the utilities and infrastructure services to extend their market share. EEG is yet another great example of a business that will bring complementary services to the Group.”
Aliter Capital announced the close of its specialist support services fund (Aliter Capital I, LP) in February 2017. Founded by a group of seasoned support services entrepreneurs and investors – Billy Allan, Greig Brown, Andy Galloway and Andrew Busby – it is one of the first funds of its kind and focuses on small and mid-sized businesses in the UK support services sector, a market valued at over GBP300 billion. Its approach differs from traditional private equity models by making only a limited number of selective portfolio investments to deliver dedicated hands-on support. Aliter has now closed a total of nine transactions since the beginning of 2017.
