Clearwater International advises emergency response service provider Evander on sale

Clearwater International has advised the shareholders of market leader Evander Locks & Glazing (“Evander”) on its sale to VPS, the vacant property, site security and property services specialists.

Founded in 1984, Evander is a nationwide 24/7 emergency response and repair provider of locks and glazing. Located in Norwich and through a national infrastructure of 19 depots and 297 engineers, it provides fulfilment services to both the insurance and commercial sectors as well as direct to consumers. Two-thirds of its business comes from the insurance sector and clients include Aviva, LBG and RSA.

Headquartered in the UK, the VPS Group leads the European vacant property services market, providing a full suite of specialist solutions across the complete property lifecycle as well as offering a wide range of services covering remote sites and occupied property. It has a national network of 20 depots in the UK and operations across mainland Europe including France, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Italy. VPS has more than 1,100 employees, with 750 based in the UK, and is backed by major European private equity firm PAI Partners.

With very similar customer requirements and challenges, the acquisition of Evander should enable the VPS Group to expand both its operational spread and develop into new segments as well as enhancing the service offering to shared customers.