Advising WestBridge-backed APEM on its acquisition of GoBe Consultants
WestBridge portfolio company APEM has completed its third and biggest acquisition in 12 months and secures £25m sustainability linked refinance.
The Manchester-headquartered environmental consultancy has acquired GoBe Consultants, a planning and environmental services consultancy with offices in Devon and Glasgow. The transaction comes after APEM’s acquisition of Woodrow in July 2021 and AQUAFACT earlier this year, following the APEM management buy-out in 2019, supported by WestBridge. Capital advised on all three deals (read more here). This latest deal is the largest to date and is a key milestone for the business as they pursue their ambitious growth strategy.
Dr Adrian Williams, CEO at APEM Group, said:
This is a particularly special deal. Not only has it been many years in development, but by bringing GoBe and APEM together we have created a truly unique offering in the renewable energy environment consultancy market. The advice and support from our network, including Capital Law has been invaluable and underpins our future growth plans.
As part of this transaction, APEM Group also secured a £25m refinance from Virgin Money to refinance existing facilities and fund the acquisition.
Sarah Hale and Tom Kelleher from Capital’s corporate team and James Butters and Chris Lewis from Capital’s banking team advised APEM on the deal, with support from commercial, property and employment law specialists from across the firm.
WestBridge is an independent, award winning Private Equity house that invests in UK buyouts and mid-market companies. They have been a key client of Capital Law’s corporate team for over 10 years, who have supported them on 15 investments to date and all their realisations under the 1st and 2nd (£140m) fund.
Peter Barkley, Director at WestBridge, who worked on the deal with Rebecca Sinclair said:
This acquisition is a transformational step for The APEM Group in creating a global leader in renewables consulting. We are grateful to the support provided by the Capital Law team not only on this acquisition but for the continued support having now completed the original buy-out and three bolt on acquisitions. We look forward to continuing this relationship as APEM continues to pursue its plans for significant organic and acquisitive growth.
Tom Kelleher, who leads Capital’s Corporate & Private Equity team, said:
APEM is a global and market leading environmental consultancy business led by an experienced, ambitious and incredibly dedicated management. Together with the support of the WestBridge team, APEM has continued to build on its breadth of services, providing first class service to its clients, and it’s great to see the GoBe team become part of the APEM group.
