Browne Jacobson dealmakers advise on CET Infrastructure’s Palatine backed acquisition of CGL

Browne Jacobson’s private equity team have advised on the Palatine Private Equity backed acquisition of Card Geotechnics Limited (CGL) by CET Infrastructure for an undisclosed consideration.

The Browne Jacobson team was led by Birmingham based private equity partner Gareth Davies, alongside a Manchester based team comprising senior associate Ryan Brown and associate Bethany Pickup (corporate) and partner Ian Deakin (employment).

This is the third Palatine backed bolt on acquisition for the CET Group that Browne Jacobson have advised on. Previous deals have included the acquisition of East Midlands based Enverity and CET subsidiary, Construction Testing Solutions, on its acquisition of Esseltest.

Founded in 1994, award winning Surrey based CGL is the UKs largest independent specialist geotechnical and geoenvironmental consultancy, employing more than 65 employees across its seven offices in the UK and Ireland. Castle Donington headquartered CET UK provides a range of specialist services, including claims management, draining services, testing and geotechnical services to the infrastructure, precision engineering, construction, property and insurance sectors. The company also has sites in Essex, Kent, Leicestershire and Scotland.

Palatine PE is a leading mid-market private equity house, investing between £10m - £30m in high growth mid-market companies.

Tom Hustler, Investment Manager at Palatine Private Equity said: “We’re pleased to support CET with their continued buy and build growth strategy. The business has continued to perform strongly through the uncertainty caused by Covid-19, which is testament to the hard work of the management team.

“Gareth and his team were the obvious choice to support us on this important strategic acquisition having advised us on our investment in CET in 2018 and two subsequent bolt-on acquisitions last year. They have all the qualities we look for in our advisers and once again their advice was first rate.”

Gareth Davies, private equity partner at Browne Jacobson, added: “It was a pleasure to work with Richard, Tom and the rest of the Palatine team again. Deals such as this perfectly illustrate the value that PE ownership can add to high growth businesses such as CET and the important role they will play in the UK’s long-term economic recovery.”