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Michelmores’ Corporate team has advised the Chairman and shareholders of British civil engineering firm XEIAD through a takeover by Inflexion Private Equity backed British Engineering Services (BES).
XEIAD is an engineering consultancy specialising in difficult to access areas. It inspects tens of thousands of structures annually to help keep critical infrastructure safe across the UK. After some difficulty in 2012/13 the firm was acquired by Olivier Garrigue who was backed by a number of private equity investors. Michelmores acted on behalf of Olivier and XEIAD’s new investors.
After a challenging period of restructuring and re-development the firm returned to profit and grew steadily. Its growth substantially accelerated over the last four years as the implementation of its strategy yielded new major long-term contracts in its specialist sectors: transportation, utilities, marine, and central and local government.
The acquisition facilitates a full exit for shareholders including Olivier Garrigue who passes the reins to recently appointed Managing Director, Paul Capener.
Chairman of XEIAD, Olivier Garrigue said:
“The sale of XEIAD to BES comes at the right inflexion point in the history of the company. BES offers an excellent strategic fit for all stakeholders. Its ambition, competence and drive will only help to further strengthen XEIAD’s competitive position as it will drive further innovation to serve the needs of its growing portfolio of clients. When we invested in 2013, we made the right choice to appoint Michelmores as advisers. Our relationship strengthened over the years on the back of sound advice and when the time came to exit, the Michelmores team led by Richard Cobb provided us with the support and advice we required to successfully negotiate and complete on the sale of our business.”
Head of Corporate and Senior Partner, Richard Cobb said:
“It has been a pleasure to act for Olivier Garrigue, his team and the shareholders at XEIAD in what will now become an exciting new chapter for the company. There is great synergy between XEIAD and BES in terms of both their vision and culture which will ensure a seamless transition for the company’s customers and employees.”
The Michelmores team included Barnaby Baker, Anthony Reeves, Siobhan Murphy, Kate Gardner, Lucy Atkinson.
Michelmores worked alongside Isca Ventures on the deal. Pinsent Masons acted for BES.
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