Double deal for corporate finance team

Grant Thornton UK’s corporate finance team in the Central and East region experienced a surge in late summer activity.

The firm closed two sales on the same day, which involved the sale of JCW, a Hertfordshire-based technical facilities management service provider to Apleona, a German private equity-backed group.

The team also advised on the acquisition of Hertfordshire-based engineering services and construction firm, JCA Engineering, by the UK listed company Mitie Group for up to £31.5m.

The financial details of the JCW sale to Apleona, led by Grant Thornton partner Mike Tillson and Stuart Davies, were not disclosed.

JCW provides a wide range of in-house services, employing over 250 qualified technicians. They have six offices serving clients in various sectors, including retail, education, commercial, leisure, and the public sector.

Mitie Group’s acquisition of JCA Engineering, which saw a 17% revenue growth to £71.8m in the year ending December 2022, was overseen by Richad Loveday and Mike Hughes.

The deal includes an initial payment of £21m and additional deferred payments of up to £10.5m over three years, tied to performance.

Partner Mike Tillson said: “The team has worked incredibly hard to deliver great outcomes for our clients. Both JCW and JCA Engineering are now very well-placed to accelerate their strong recent growth as part of much larger entities.

 “These two deals prove there is strong appetite from international, PE and UK listed buyers for strong, well-managed and scale-able mid-sized businesses. We look forward to the coming months with confidence after a very busy summer.”