NVM Private Equity investment enables MBO at Merseyside contractor

NVM Private Equity (NVM) today announced that its fund, NVM Private Equity Vintage III LP, has invested £11.6m in supporting the management buy-out of Merseyside-based Knowsley Contractors, trading as King Construction, a provider of civil engineering and construction services as it embarks on the next phase of its growth strategy.

Founded in 2002, the business operates a dedicated workforce of 220 from five locations and is led by an ambitious senior management team of four: Managing director Dave Prescott, chief operating officer Campbell Crawford, finance director Simon Warner and commercial director Mike Taylor.

At completion, Gary Howse will be joining the King team as non-executive chairman.

Primarily focusing on the maintenance and repair of the highway and utility infrastructure network within England and Wales for clients such as Liverpool City Council and United Utilities, King has enjoyed strong year-on-year growth.

With a number of long-term framework agreements in place, the company is well positioned to capitalise on the ongoing requirement to modernise the national infrastructure.

Against a backdrop of continued population growth and house building requirements, along with an ageing infrastructure network, significant investment in both water supply and road development is expected to continue.

Andy Leach, Liam May and Oliver Wildig led the investment for NVM, with Leach and May joining the King Construction board at completion.

King’s managing director, Dave Prescott, said: “We are all looking forward to the next chapter in the development of King Construction and working alongside NVM in the future.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved, including our customers.

“With a proven track record in partnering with management teams to drive growth, NVM’s support will enable us to unlock the potential of our business, delivering greater service and value for our customers.”

Andy Leach, investment partner of NVM Private Equity, said: “In recent years, King has demonstrated strong revenue growth and NVM is excited by the opportunity to support the business through its next phase of development.

“King Construction is well placed to continue to provide the highest level of service to existing customers and expand these services into adjacent geographies in order to meet increasing demand.

“Dave and his team now have a great opportunity to capitalise on the level of ongoing investment in the UK’s road and utilities infrastructure and build scale, strength and success across the UK. We’re looking forward to supporting the team in the next chapter of their growth journey.”

This deal marks the fourth MBO investment from NVM’s Vintage III LP fund in the past six months and follows investments in Mobius Networks, Secure Retail and Chemigraphic.

A corporate team from Addleshaw Goddard advised NVM Private Equity on its investment.

George Danczak, managing associate at Addleshaw Goddard, said: “This deal is a great example of how growing businesses, like King Construction, can benefit not just from the capital provided by a private equity investment, but also from the business knowledge companies like NVM can offer to help accelerate their business.”

The Addleshaw Goddard team was led by Paul Medlicott, George Danczak and James Finney.

King Construction’s management team was provided with legal advice from Hill Dickinson (Craig Scott and Phil Wallbank).

Cowgills Corporate Finance team, comprising Paul Stringer, Sam Davies and James Kennedy, also advised King Construction on the sale.