We have advised management and Beech Tree Private Equity (Beech Tree) on their successful exit of Obsequio Group (Obsequio), a leading UK provider of fire safety, water hygiene, security, asbestos, energy, and environmental compliance services, to Warren Equity Partners LLP (Warren Equity Partners).
Our combined team provided M&A, Debt Advisory and Modelling & Data Analytics support throughout this transaction. This marks our third deal supporting Obsequio’s growth journey, having previously advised on Beech Tree’s original investment in 2023 and on the refinancing with Kartesia that accelerated the Group’s buy-and-build strategy in 2024, with data analytics services provided throughout our engagement.
Obsequio is an expert provider of fire safety, water hygiene, security, asbestos, energy, and environmental compliance services across the UK - supporting both public and private sector clients. The business will continue to be led by Simon Abley (CEO) and Simon Cashmore (Executive Chairman) who together founded the Obsequio Group in 2020. This transaction represents the first exit from Beech Tree PE Fund III and delivers strong returns for Beech Tree, with Obsequio’s revenues increasing from £17m to over £70m.
Headquartered in Leicester and now employing over 630 staff, Obsequio has expanded rapidly since Beech Tree’s investment in 2023, both organically and through a series of seven bolt-on acquisitions, which have extended the range of compliance services offered by the Group as well as expanded its geographic coverage. As part of the investment from Warren Equity Partners, two further acquisitions are announced today: Atlas World (an active fire compliance specialist based in Belfast) and PLP Fire & Security (a smoke and ventilation specialist based in Chatham).
In recent years, Obsequio has invested heavily in its market leading proprietary technology platform, Drax Technology, which provides customers with a holistic life safety and building compliance solution. The technology has been deployed globally, helps to protect over 4,000 businesses and manages 1m+ alarm events annually.
More about the M&A process
Our approach combined deep sector expertise with strong private equity relationships, enabling us to deliver a bespoke, high-value process. By emphasising key metrics through our data analytics function, we effectively evidenced Obsequio as the premium platform with sector leading KPI’s. This, alongside our focus on demonstrating market opportunities within the wider TICC sector to support a continued buy-and-build strategy, was key to driving value. Our long-term partnership with Obsequio’s management team and Beech Tree enabled us to help shape the strategic direction of the business and provide hands-on support throughout the entire investment journey, from the point of investment in March 2023.
