Clearwater International advises APEM Group on its refinancing to accelerate its ambitious growth strategy

Clearwater International has advised WestBridge-backed APEM Group, a global environmental consultancy, on its financing package from Tikehau Capital and Virgin Money.

Established in 1987, APEM Group is a world class environmental and geospatial consultancy, specialising in marine, freshwater, terrestrial ecology and geospatial data, providing its services for clients across Europe, the US, Australia and Asia.

The funding package includes €58m (£50m) of drawn and committed debt facilities as well as additional debt capacity through an accordion facility from Tikehau Capital. Virgin Money has also provided €9m (£7.5m) of working capital facilities. The combined funding will be used to support APEM’s ongoing organic growth and buy and build strategy.

Alongside securing the facilities, APEM Group has acquired Macro Works, a Dublin based provider of landscape and visual consultancy services. Macro Works has public and private sectors clients from a range of industries including renewables, infrastructure and commercial development. As well as landscape and visual impact assessments (LVIAs), the company produces photomontages, 3D visual simulations, glint and glare reports and landscape design.

This is the fourth acquisition APEM has made in the past two years and reinforces its position as a leading player in the global environmental consultancy sector.

APEM has gone from strength to strength since WestBridge supported a management buyout in March 2019, and has seen revenue increase from €12m (£10m) to forecast €70m (c.£60m) in the current financial year.

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Financiación

€67m
Asesores de Clearwater
Adviser to APEM Group on its refinancing to accelerate its ambitious growth strategy
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Demand for end-to-end environmental consultancy continues to grow and we are leading the way by constantly evolving a range of highly specialised services, enabling us to be a greater partner to our clients, people and the communities across which we operate. Alongside strategic acquisitions, we are committed to maintaining sustainable organic growth by nurturing existing relationships and expanding our service offerings into new regions. Tikehau Capital reinforces our financial strength and brings synergistic values to support our aspirations. Many thanks to the Clearwater International team for leading us in this successful refinancing process.

Leah McGimpsey, CSO, APEM Group

We were very impressed by Clearwater’s outstanding service during the deal process. APEM and WestBridge have been really pleased with the support provided to get this transaction successfully over the line. Our M&A strategy has, and remains, focused on adding highly specialist, like-minded acquisitions to the group. WestBridge has supported the management team to build a pipeline of high-quality targets and with these facilities on board we expect to make a number of further acquisitions before the end of this financial year.

Peter Barkley, Partner, WestBridge

We were delighted to work alongside APEM at a crucial stage in the business’ growth. Tikehau and Virgin Money provided a compelling funding offer which will help the business realise its strategic aims in the long-term.

Tom Barnwell, Partner, Clearwater International