£1.3m acquisition for equity partners

A Barnsley subsidiary of equity investors CEPS plc has agreed to acquire an Essex-based surveying firm for £1.3m

Hickton Holdings is a subsidiary of CEPS plc, which buys majority stakes in stable, profitable and steadily growing entrepreneurial companies where the current managements are keen to drive the businesses forward

No equity investment from CEPS will be required to undertake the transaction, which was completed on 18 May 2017.

The vendors of BRCS, being, Simon Polley, Frank Robinson and Sue Polley, will remain in their existing roles within BRCS, and will be joined as directors by Tony Mobbs, the managing director of Hickton.

BRCS, which was established in 1996, is a provider of building control services nationally, as a Corporate Approved Inspector.

In the year ended 30 April 2016, BRCS’s sales were £732,101, EBITDA was £256,961 and profit before taxation was £257,071.

The acquisition will be funded from Hickton’s existing cash resources.

The company said that the acquisition of BRCS fits with Hickton’s strategy of broadening its service offering into complementary areas.

The directors of CEPS said that the acquisition of BRCS by Hickton will be a “valuable addition” to the CEPS group of companies.

Schofield Sweeney acted as advisers to Hickton Holdings.