Our Restructuring and Advisory Division advises Pareto on management buyout to NVM for £18m
Our Restructuring and Advisory Division acted as exclusive lead adviser to the shareholders of Pareto Facilities Management (Pareto FM) on the management buyout (MBO) to private equity firm, NVM for £18 million.
Oxfordshire-based Pareto FM was founded in 2014 by the current managing director Andrew Hulbert and has built a strong reputation in the industry as a people business, with a focus on customer service, diversity and staff engagement.
Pareto was set up as an antidote to large, inflexible service providers, delivering a tech-enabled suite of customer-focused solutions. The management team has been highly successful at building a blue-chip customer base and boasts a market-leading Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 75 and was also recently featured in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100.
One of the shareholders and Hulbert will continue to lead the business and retain a partial stake. The investment from NVM will enable the management team to not only continue to expand organically, but also take advantage of depressed asset pricing as a result of the pandemic, which has seen a number of less agile FM businesses struggle to stay afloat.
The Restructuring and Advisory Division team, led by Fardeen Nariman, Ian Barton and Reuben Taylor, supported Pareto’s shareholders in developing its business plan, securing investment from NVM, and structuring and delivering the deal for all parties.
Fardeen Nariman, director at our Restructuring and Advisory Division who led the transaction, commented: “We are delighted to have supported two of the founding shareholders in successfully exiting the business, as well as find Andrew and the management team the right partner in NVM that will help the business continue its impressive growth. We are pleased to have helped deliver this transaction under trying circumstances, exacerbated by the continued lockdown in the UK. It is strong validation and testament to the business that has been built and led by Andrew and his team.”
Andrew Hulbert added: “It was important to Pareto that we found the right partner to go on this journey with us. The Restructuring and Advisory Division worked closely with our senior management to support us throughout the whole process, offering guidance, advice and support day and night. We are delighted with the deal we have structured which will enable Pareto to better support its clients and team members as well as grow further in Facilities Management. The injection of investment makes Pareto a significant force and we look forward to seeing it continue on its journey to transform the industry.”
This deal follows a significantly active period for the Restructuring and Advisory Division’s corporate finance team, completing eight transactions in the last fortnight, at a combined value of over £130m.