RSK Group raises financing from funds managed by Ares Capital Europe and announces acquisitions of bts and tbf
December 21, 2018Engineering and environmental services company the RSK Group Ltd has raised a new funding package in the form of a unitranche senior debt facility from funds managed by Ares Capital Europe (Ares).
RSK will use the funding to finance its strategic planned doubling in size over the next few years through development of new businesses and the acquisition of bolt-on complementary businesses. It has today announced the acquisitions of tree surgeons the bts Group and the tbf Contracting businesses tbf Traffic and tbf Scaffolding.
These are the seventh and eighth acquisitions that RSK โ a privately owned company with 36 international offices, 2500 staff and an annual turnover of ยฃ200m โ has made in the financial year 2018-2019. They follow six acquisitions made in 2017-2019.
RSKโs founder and CEO, Dr Alan Ryder, says:
โWe were pleased that Ares was able to provide us with a funding strategy that left the equity in the hands of our leadership team and employees, so RSK staff will benefit from their hard work. The financing gives us the financial clout to continue our track record of acquiring businesses built by entrepreneurs that have a strong culture and loyal staff.
โRSK is delighted to join forces with bts and tbf and their extremely skilled workforce. They are excellent businesses which have a good cultural fit with RSK. Their teams have an impressive track record of delivering innovative solutions in a wide range of sectors. By bringing them under our umbrella we can release synergies, taking new services to our existing clients and taking our pre-existing services to the clients of our newly acquired businesses. Together, we can deliver added value to our combined client base.โ
bts and the tbf companies are owned by the same shareholders. Headquartered in Suffolk, UK, they have a combined turnover of ยฃ22m, and 200 staff and 160 subcontractors in offices in Needham Market, Telford, Newark-on-Trent and Elgin, Scotland. bts provides arboriculture support for utility companies across the UK.
Two of its clients are UK Power Networks and Western Power Distribution. It recently secured a new contract with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks to provide tree cutting services in Scotland.
tbf Traffic provides road and traffic management services to bts and a wide range of utility and civil engineering firms, while tbf Scaffolding provides services to a range of utility and construction firms on projects of all sizes.
bts and the tbf companies will join the agriculture, land and property management division of RSK.
bts and tbf managing director Halley MacCallum, who will join RSK and continue to lead the businesses together with their three current directors, says:
โJoining forces with RSK offers us market access to work on HS2 and other contracts which weโre keen to get on tender lists for. RSK has long provided arboricultural consultancy services and recently moved into the vegetation management marketplace, so being able to join forces with our leading tree and vegetation management services will lead to great synergies. This is an exciting opportunity for our staff and our businesses to expand into new fields.โ
The Ares financing will also be used to boost RSKโs international growth, including through the opening of new offices. It is currently actively investing in EMEA, India, Africa and former Soviet Union countries and has an active client base of 7,000 organisations spread across these regions. It has 2,500 employees in 91 offices worldwide, including a growing business in Iraq and a new office which opened this year in Kenya.
Additionally, RSK plans to use the financing to expand the groupโs fleet of equipment and add capabilities in its laboratories. It invests many millions of pounds each year into new tools and specialist equipment, including adding to its fleet of drilling equipment which already comprises the largest collection of site investigation equipment in the UK.
๐ณ๏ธโ๐ RSK is proud to stand alongside members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community.
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Ryan Dunderdale, Senior Surveyor at Central Alliance, providing technical support and on-site training to datum plate install teams down in Bristol.
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๐ In the June edition of our #employeespotlight, we spoke with with Rosie Pearce at Stephenson Halliday and Carmen Snowdon at WRc Group to find out about their recent achievements ๐
๐ Congratulations to you both!
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"If you donโt feel valued, represented and respected in your workplace, then inevitably your #wellbeing will suffer.โ
๐ In our latest edition of #ADayInTheLife, we spoke with Ellen Lapworth-Maisey, Wellbeing, #Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at RSK โ a fascinating position that helps to create an inclusive and empowering #culture for all RSK staff.
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Some pictures of the Envireau Water staff on site.
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#RSKSteps came to an end on Tuesday 31 May after a month of stepping adventures.
๐๐ป ๐ป๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐:
โ๏ธ1449 participants
โ๏ธ332,268,416 steps
โ๏ธยฃ1500 raised for our chosen charity, MIND!
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๐ข RSK is pleased to announce it has further expanded its presence in Ireland by acquiring one of the most reputable tree care companies in the country.
๐ณ Dermot Casey Tree Care was founded in the 1970s by Managing Director Dermot Casey and is one of the most highly regarded tree surgery companies in Ireland, with more than 50 years of experience.
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