Leading technical engineering services provider sold to major PE-backed infrastructure services group

Transaction

Sale of BGEN Ltd to CVC-backed M Group Services

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Role

Adviser to BGEN Ltd on its sale to CVC-backed M Group Services

Sector

Industrial & Chemicals

Region

We have advised BGEN Ltd (BGEN) and its subsidiaries, one of the UK’s largest independent technical engineering solutions businesses with a strong position in regulated end markets including power & energy, water, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors, on its sale to M Group Services (M Group). The transaction represents the largest acquisition in M Group’s history.

BGEN is a leading technical engineering solutions provider offering specialist Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control, and Automation (MEICA) capabilities. These capabilities support clients in building new assets and to optimise existing assets, which play a crucial role in reducing carbon footprints to meet net-zero targets.

This acquisition will enable M Group to rapidly advance its highly sought-after technical engineering solutions offering in its existing core markets in the energy, water, telecom and transport sectors, as well as expanding into new markets served by BGEN and further enhances M Group’s comprehensive platform of value-added infrastructure services expertise.

Through its nationwide network of offices and almost 1,500 employees, BGEN provides its multidisciplinary offering to a range of clients including National Grid, Thames Water, Scottish Water, and Anglian Water, which also have long-term partnerships with M Group.

M Group is committed to investing in BGEN, focusing on the growth and development of its workforce, training programs, and skill enhancement to further expand its platform capabilities.

"Joining M Group Services represents the most significant step in our trading history to date and an exciting opportunity for our people, clients and partners alike. Our focus remains on bringing excellence to engineering, helping to keep businesses, industries and economies moving forward with a safety-first approach. Our joint expertise will provide a wealth of specialist engineering services across multiple sectors, help us to deliver even more effectively for our clients and achieve our own growth ambitions."

Robin Whitehead, Chief Executive, BGEN

As a shareholder group, we are delighted with the outcome that Clearwater has delivered in securing a sale of the business to M Group Services. Paul, Zack and the rest of the team’s strategic advice and intimate buyer and market knowledge has been invaluable to us. We would like to thank the whole team for their tremendous efforts.
Mike Groarke, BGEN, Shareholder Representative

BGEN is a business with a long trading heritage and an excellent reputation and culture that aligns with our own. In line with our strategy, the acquisition of BGEN significantly enhances the technical engineering capability of M Group Services, significantly deepening our ability to provide expert solutions for our existing clients and broad range of new clients, for today and in the future.
Andrew Findlay, M Group Services, Chief Executive

It has been a pleasure to advise the shareholders of BGEN on its sale to M Group Services. BGEN is a leading UK provider of MEICA services with a 100-year history of delivering engineering support to critical UK infrastructure and industry. BGEN provides M Group with a fantastic engineering platform to service new markets and customers. We wish Robin, the rest of the BGEN management team and M Group Services the very best for the future.
Paul Jones, Partner, Clearwater

We are delighted to have completed the sale of BGEN to M Group Services. Having been close to the M Group business for several years, it was clear to us that BGEN represented a highly strategic acquisition opportunity for them. There is a perfect match in the cultures of the two businesses and we wish Robin and the team the best of luck under the new ownership.
Zack Goddard, Director, Clearwater