South African group cleans up with FM acquisition

International facilities management provider Servest has furthered its growth and diversification strategy with the acquisition of Aktrion Group, a specialist in the provision of bespoke manufacturing support services.

Aktrion is a manufacturing support services provider, running critical parts of clients’ operations on a contract outsourced basis. It has developed a strong presence in the printing, automotive, food and transport sectors.

It operates nationally and internationally but its registered office is in Telford. Group turnover in the last financial year was £90m.

The acquisition sees South Africa-based Servest increase its annual turnover to in excess of £1bn globally.

Servest’s interest in Aktrion stems from the higher value-added and specialist services it provides. It is beneficial to Servest as it expands its global reach, enabling it to play a leading role in the global manufacturing market.

Rob Legge, Group CEO at Servest, said: “Through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth, Aktrion has successfully developed a worldwide business, with a strong presence in printing, automotive, food and transport sectors, supporting its blue chip client base.

“This acquisition will therefore enable Servest to gain a larger footprint in these sectors, and will allow us to increase our presence in Europe – as we will now operate across 10 European countries.”

Ben Pearson, Aktrion’s chairman said: “We firmly believe this is a positive move for Aktrion – one that will really allow the group to prosper and develop.”

Andy Moore

Andy Moore, managing director, Bracebridge, said: “There is an excellent strategic fit between Aktrion and Servest. The acquisition is part of Servest’s growth and diversification strategy, strengthening its presence in Europe and in the key sectors in which Aktrion operates.”

He said deal was a good example of the types of deals being advised out of Birmingham – an international, private equity backed business being sold to an international buyer.

Andy Gray, senior partner with Graphite Capital, added: “The management team have built a robust business and we would like to take the opportunity to thank the team for their excellent leadership. We would also like to thank Bracebridge for their advice and support throughout the sale process.”

The deal continues the strong run of transactions Bracebridge has been involved in.

Last year, the firm worked on the sale of Midlands-based Selborne Care to Caretech for £17m and the sale of IMASS to Medigold Health, based in Northampton.

“The sale of Aktrion is a great start to 2018. We have a very strong pipeline of deals, with significant interest from international purchasers,” added Mr Moore.