Cabot Square Capital has acquired a majority shareholding in Premier Modular to support its strategic growth.
Cabot Square Capital has acquired a majority shareholding in Premier Modular, one of the UK’s leading offsite construction specialists, for an undisclosed sum. The investment will support the strategic growth of Premier’s modular hire business and its permanent offsite division.
Independently owned for 25 years, London-based Cabot Square is a specialist provider of investment capital to European companies with a particular focus in the financial services, property and infrastructure sectors. Its portfolio includes NetZero Buildings – a fast-growing offsite manufacturer of energy-efficient buildings for the public sector, and Public Sector Plc – a specialist asset manager which partners with local government and housing providers.
Established in 1956 and headquartered in East Yorkshire, Premier Modular is one of the most financially robust businesses in the dynamic offsite sector. It has achieved strong growth year-on-year and recently announced profits of more than £10m (EBITDA) for the year ending June 2020. It provides temporary and permanent offsite building solutions across a diverse range of sectors including education, healthcare, infrastructure, construction and residential.
High profile schemes delivered by Premier include a £50m project to provide office and welfare buildings at Hinkley Point. Currently underway is a multi-million-pound contract for the rapid construction of Covid-19 testing sites across the UK to support the Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. It has just been awarded a £7m contract for a 62-bed ward building at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, and a number of apartment schemes are now on site following its expansion into the residential sector last year.
Keith Maddin, Partner at Cabot Square, said, “MMC and offsite manufacturing are revolutionising the construction industry. We are seeing significant growth as more public and private sector clients develop a deeper understanding of the speed, quality, cost, environmental and social benefits of moving construction into a controlled factory setting. There has also been a surge in interest in offsite following the Covid-19 pandemic as more construction clients and contractors recognise how the approach can reduce risk and disruption on site.”
“Premier is a high-performing, profitable business, which manufactures high quality building solutions and continues to expand its hire fleet – already one of the newest in the UK. We are excited to partner with its outstanding management team and support the business on the next phase of its growth, including sector and geographical expansion.”
David Harris, Managing Director of Premier Modular, said, “This new investment brings even greater stability and continuity to our business which will benefit our colleagues, customers, supply chain and strategic partners. We are looking forward to working with Cabot Square and a highly successful and productive business partnership.”
“We have a clear vision and strategy for the next phase in our growth and have ambitious plans to increase turnover to £100m within three years, providing a healthy return for our shareholders.”
The shareholders of Premier were advised by Stephens (M&A), Eversheds Sutherland (legal), KPMG (FDD) and CIL (CDD). Cabot Square was advised by Herbert Smith Freehills (legal) and EY (DD and transaction structuring).