Salisbury acquired by Atlas to form national total FM player

Our Corporate Finance team is pleased to announce its role as lead adviser to the shareholders of Salisbury Group on its sale to Atlas FM forming a £160m revenue national total FM player.

Salisbury was founded in 2013 as the dedicated facilities services arm of a commercial property company and has since grown into an award-winning national operator with a diverse customer base, historical revenues exceeding £50m, and excellent prospects following two record years in which it secured over £30m of new contracts. MHA Corporate Finance was engaged by the shareholders to advise its board on the development and delivery of a strategy for Salisbury’s disposal.

Salisbury has been acquired by Atlas FM. Established 35 years ago, Atlas has evolved from a local cleaning specialist to become one of the fastest-growing nationwide facilities and support services operators in the UK. Atlas remains privately owned and its management team prides itself on a strong vision and values, characterised by a family feel and highly motivated personnel.

With the addition of Salisbury, Atlas will be a £160m revenue company that employs 8,500 people at over 6,000 sites around the country marrying Atlas’ renowned cleaning and security services with Salisbury’s facilities management and hard services expertise to create an enhanced end-to-end ‘total FM’ offering.  A strong cultural alignment and a shared customer-focused ethos exists between the companies, and this was a major driver for the successful acquisition.

The Salisbury brand and management team will remain in place following the transaction. The combined Atlas and Salisbury team expects to benefit from augmented capabilities at national scale, which will ultimately enhance the offering for their customers’ benefit.

Chris Wisely, Group MD of Atlas commented:

“We are delighted to have acquired Salisbury Group. This deal is a sign of our ambitious growth plans for the future, and we are pleased that the Salisbury management team and staff will become part of the Atlas family. By bringing in Salisbury’s excellent facilities services and engineering maintenance capabilities, Atlas now offers the full suite of FM services to our clients.”

Andrew Lunt, Group MD of Salisbury added:

“This is a fantastic step for Salisbury and our talented people to become part of an established and fast-growing FM group. Atlas is a business that is owner-operated and focused on providing the best possible service for customers. This culture is completely aligned to our own and alongside the immediate commercial opportunities the deal brings, we can look forward to an exciting future together.”

On behalf of the Salisbury board and shareholders Simon Jones commented:

“We are immensely proud of Salisbury and the team who have helped to build the business and establish its leading reputation in the FM market.  We have found in Atlas what we believe to be an ideal partner, and we look forward to seeing Salisbury continue to flourish under their ownership.  We are very grateful to the MHA team for their hard work and dedication to delivering a successful outcome, and the wider stakeholder group involved. This has been a complex transaction and the advice and support received have been invaluable in bringing it to a successful conclusion.”

Corporate Finance Partner, James Lawson remarked:

“We have very much enjoyed advising the shareholders and Salisbury team on this transaction. The degree of cultural fit between Salisbury and Atlas and a like-minded philosophy on customer engagement have been obvious since early discussions; this facilitated a pragmatic and co-operative approach to negotiations and a shared focus on the future opportunity. It’s gratifying to have played our part in guiding both businesses to the point where they can now start to deliver as a combined group.”

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