July 2007

Hazlewoods provides forensic due diligence on the MBO of Foreman Roberts

The Cheltenham based Corporate Finance Team of leading firm of business advisers and chartered accountants, Hazlewoods LLP, led by Partner Andrew Brookes, has recently provided Forensic Due Diligence to NVM Private Equity Limited and HSBC Bank plc in the MBO of Foreman Roberts.

The company provides building design and advisory services in all fields of the office, technology, retail and education sectors. The company has worked for clients including Heron Group, Land Securities and Quintain on a wide range of high profile projects such as Heron Tower, Bankside, Bluewater, Wimbledon and Wembley.

NVM has backed Managing Director Stuart Alexander who led the MBO process. Alexander has been instrumental in doubling the company's profit since his appointment in 2004. A new Non-Executive Chairman Clive Williams, whose former executive roles have included managing partner of Ernst & Young and CEO of Capgemini UK, is also welcomed to the Board. The private equity investors have provided £7m of the total £14.7m funding.

Peter Hodson, who managed the deal for NVM Private Equity, commented: "This is an exciting opportunity to invest in a sector that is developing rapidly and is further enhanced by legislative change, increasing the importance of building services engineering. We recognise Foreman Roberts' excellent position to capitalise on this growth as well as the expertise of the management team".

Stuart Alexander, Managing Director of Foreman Roberts, added: "This deal gives the management team the investment to fund our continued UK and International expansion and capitalise on the growing demand for our specialist sustainability services.

"Environmental legislation has made the role of building services engineering more critical than ever in the design and construction of buildings, and Foreman Roberts is ideally placed to ride the crest of this exciting industry growth".

Andrew commented: "This work involved pinpoint procedures designed to cover the key areas of the acquisition. It was a particularly interesting transaction to work on given the dynamics of the sector, areas covered and the timescales involved. Hazlewoods wish the management team and business every success in the future".


For further information on this press release, please contact:
Andrew Brookes
Hazlewoods LLP
Windsor House
Bayshill Road
Cheltenham GL50 3AT

Tel: 01242 246670
e-mail: ab@hazlewoods.co.uk