Lyceum acquires Johnson’s FM division for £32.2m

The carve-out sees Lyceum backing a new management team comprising Gerry Higgins as chairman – previously chairman of former Lyceum portfolio company M&C Energy – and Martin Holt as CEO, who previously led the merger of MITIE Engineering Maintenance and Dalkia FM.

The deal will see Johnson's facilities management division, known as Johnson Workplace Management, along with its SGP Property & Facilities Management group, taken private.

Following the acquisition, Lyceum will support SGP's growth both organically and through targeted acquisitions.

The deal was the result of Johnson's strategic review, undertaken at the start of 2012, which found that over the past 18 months, the listed company has re-focused the business on textile services following its acquisition of Cannon Textile Care in March 2012 and the disposal of its Alex Reid business.

Company
SGP was established in 2007 and provides managed facilities and property services under long-term contracts to clients in the healthcare, education, corporate and retail sectors.

The group operates through its proprietary FM technology platform, from which it plans, reports and analyses trends to manage client estates more efficiently.

The division's property services arm includes service charge and business rate advisory, technical and environmental consultancy with regards to construction design, energy usage, refurbishment and relocation.

The FM division, which includes SGP and six other related special purpose companies, is forecast to generate EBITDA of £5.3m for the current financial year. In FY2012, Johnson's FM activities generated total revenue, including costs recharged to customers, of £52.3m with operating profit coming in at £4.5m. The reported net assets relating to FM activities were £37.9m.

People
Gerry Higgins has been appointed as the group's chairman, while Martin Holt has taken the helm as CEO. Lyceum founding partner Jeremy Hand will join the company's board. Kevin Elliott, SGP's current managing director, will remain with the business in a consultancy role until June 2014.

Advisers
Equity - Highwire Consulting (Management due diligence); PwC (Financial due diligence); KPMG (Financial due diligence); Credo (Commerical due diligence); Travers Smith (Legal).

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