Equiteq sells property consulting McBains Cooper to RSBG
German investment firm RSGB has completed its acquisition of the McBains Cooper Group for an undisclosed fee. Throughout negotiations, which culminated on September 27th, M&A advisory Equiteq acted as exclusive financial advisors to McBains Cooper shareholders.
UK based McBains Cooper is an interdisciplinary property and construction consultancy, which focuses on design, architecture, planning, engineering, construction, project management and sustainability. The London-headquartered company has branches in Manchester and Thames Valley, as well as international offices positioned across Europe. The company has been responsible for many high-profile projects, including the regeneration of Battersea Power Station, cost managing new buildings at Eton College, along with work on the hotel and residential scheme the InterContinental, next to London’s O2 Arena, on the Greenwich peninsula.
Founded in 2014 as an investment vehicle, RSBG is part of RAG-Stiftung, a private foundation established in 2007. As part of the long-term capital investment strategy, the firm invests in companies which are sustainably successful. With focus on automation, machinery and industrial services – all booming segments amid a sustained period of business disruption motivated by cost-cutting – it has majority holdings in Pell Frischmann, the Dorsch Group, Qvest Media, the Roschmann and Masco Groups, among others. McBains Cooper will hope their acquisition by RSBG will strengthen the consultancy’s continued growth plans.
Jürgen Wild, Managing Director of RSBG, said, “McBains Cooper provides a great fit with our investment criteria, a highly-respected property and construction consultancy that has an enviable reputation across all major market sectors. They have combined technical excellence with exemplary customer service. Adding dedicated project management capability and a multi-discipline approach is a major step in our strategy to build a fully-fledged consultancy group. In the last three years RSBG has significantly invested in built environment consulting businesses. The fourth transaction in this segment underlines our commitment to the U.K. market.”
Michael Thirkettle, CEO of McBains Cooper added, “Today marks an exciting new chapter in the long and proud history of McBains Cooper, as we strengthen our imprint and extend our global reach. RSBG only invests in companies that have a future of both expansion and sustainability, that mirror their own values, and we are delighted to join with them in this new enterprise. Our existing clients will see no difference in terms of the people they deal with on a day-to-day basis, but we will now have additional resources to expand services and operations further afield in the future.”
Equiteq advise
Equiteq is an international consulting and IT services sector M&A advisory. The firm Equiteq works with clients to best achieve their value and exit objectives through accelerating equity growth and ultimately realising that value in a trade or private equity sale. Equiteq, who recently advised on the GNC Group’s acquisition by Grant Thornton, worked as the exclusive advisors of McBains Cooper throughout the sales process.
Regarding Equiteq’s role in the transaction, Jonathan Mintz, FD and Shareholder of McBains Cooper, commented, “Equiteq have been a trusted and invaluable advisor for us throughout this process. They have guided us through the big decisions and the smallest of detail to make sure that we achieved what was best for McBains Cooper and our clients. Having a partner in Gabriella Silvestris, with experience and integrity, was vital in ensuring that communication and trust flowed between all parties. We are delighted with the outcome and are excited about the future with RSBG.”
Equiteq Director, Gabriela Silvestris, who worked with the shareholders of McBains Cooper during the sale, said, “We are delighted with the outcome for the shareholders of McBains Cooper who had built an impressive business based on a holistic and turn-key approach to property and construction. This is a great opportunity for McBains Cooper to accelerate and strengthen its growth.”
