Chandler's Ford: Churchesfire gets new investment for growth
Partners Amanda Brockwell and Jonathon Roy in the corporate team at Southampton law firm Paris Smith have acted for the management team of Chandler's Ford-based Churchesfire in its investment by Lyceum Capital Partners.
In a deal worth over £40 million, the management team led by founder Paul Topley, with managing director Lorna Hayes and financial director Simon Burns, re-invested alongside Lyceum as the company invests for expansion. HSBC provided debt for the transaction and further committed facilities for acquisitions, alongside Lyceum.
Founded in 1992 and employing over 140 people, Churchesfire provides a full range of fire safety compliance services to over 8,000 commercial customers, from fire risk assessments and safety training to the service and maintenance of fire protection systems. Churchesfire customers include Audi, B&Q, Dairy Crest, Specsavers, Royal Mail and the Post Office.
Amanda Brockwell, who led the team at Paris Smith, has worked with Churchesfire for a number of years, acquiring companies as part of its buy-and-build strategy, said: “We are very proud to be involved in this significant step forward for Churchesfire which will enable it to continue to commit to developing its leading technology platform and expanding sales and marketing activities as well as increasing geographical coverage and adding new capabilities to its existing offering.”
The team which included partner Jonathon Roy and corporate solicitor Arezou Rezai, worked to tight timeframes to achieve a timely completion.
Paul Topley, founder of Churchesfire said: “I’m proud of what we have achieved over the last 25 years, and continue to see a fantastic future for the company. In an environment of increasing regulations and mandatory compliance activity there is a huge opportunity for us to build on our position as a leading national provider. We are delighted and very excited to be working with Lyceum and thank them, their lawyers and Amanda and her team at Paris Smith for making the whole process as pain free as possible. We now look forward to adding to our 19 previous acquisitions as we continue to build the best fire protection business in the country.”
