The Birmingham office of a European private equity firm has helped broker a deal to buy a £140 million stake in Fircroft Engineering Services.
Equistone Partners Europe’s three UK offices – Paul Harper, investment director in Birmingham, Steve O’Hare in Manchester and Andrew Backen in London – all worked on the investment.
Fircroft, which has offices in Solihull, is a multi-national recruitment agency in specialist technical industries, in particular oil and gas, energy and automotive and is expected to exceed £650 million turnover this year.
Mr O’Hare will join the Fircroft board as a non-executive director.
“Fircroft Engineering Services is a leading international player in specialist engineering recruitment, particularly in the wider energy sector, and has shown strong historic growth,” Mr Harper said.
“The company’s service levels and continued geographic expansion, together with market prospects indicates there is huge growth potential for the business.
“The management team, led by chief executive Johnathan Johnson and chief financial officer Michael Cohen, have done an excellent job in developing the business to date and positioning it for the next stage of growth.
“The strategy may also include future acquisitions in existing or additional sectors, geographies and services.
“We are looking forward to supporting the management team in executing these exciting plans.”
Mr Johnson, chief executive of Fircroft since 2005, said: “Fircroft is a global player that provides bespoke services to some of the world’s leading technical industries.
“We are pleased that Equistone shares our vision for the future and we are delighted to secure the investment and look forward to working with them in the coming years.
“We have expanded the business to support our clients, both in the UK and increasingly in overseas markets over the past five to 10 years. “We expect this trend to continue and we also plan to open new offices in the coming year to support our organic growth strategy and move into complementary services.”
