YFM delivers 2x return with sale of CPMS

YFM Equity Partners’ managed-funds have sold their shareholding in rail project business Collaborative Project Management Services Limited (CPMS) to French construction engineering company Egis, generating a return of 2x for its investors.

Having been established in 2012, over the last eight years London-based CPMS has developed into a multi-discipline infrastructure and consulting business offering professional services in enterprise asset management, project management, engineering and construction in the rail, aviation and highways industries.

In 2018, YFM Equity Partners (YFM) funded an MBO of CPMS with a £4.5m investment from its first buyout fund.

CPMS now has a turnover in excess of £8m and over 70 employees. In the last eight years, the business has supported over £1bn of investment in the UK rail sector.

Mat Baine, CEO of CPMS (pictured above), comments: “CPMS has seen strong growth since the YFM investment two years ago. The team has worked with us to form a strategic vision which we are now starting to implement with the aim of generating annual turnover of £20m by 2025.

“YFM has been an extremely supportive partner, helping us to create a bigger, stronger and more diverse board, and to think more strategically. Dividing the company into business divisions has given greater focus and encouraged geographic expansion. Thanks to the YFM team, we are in a great position to continue our growth journey within the Egis group.”

By acquiring a majority stake in CPMS, Egis strengthens its presence in the UK rail and infrastructure market. In the last few years, Egis has been involved in several projects in the UK and Ireland, including the Dublin Luas tram, the modernisation of the London Underground (tube lines), the extension of Midland Metro network, the upgrade of both the Irish and British rail networks’ signalling systems, consultancy to HS2 and, more recently, the design of the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro and the West Yorkshire Area Transport Plan.

Egis is a €1.22bn turnover construction engineering and mobility services group which operates worldwide and has a global workforce of 15,800 employees.

Commenting on the realisation, Jonathan Simm, portfolio partner for YFM, said: “We recognised CPMS’s potential as a firm with an excellent reputation for delivering complex project management programmes, and were confident that we could really add value. CPMS has established itself as a market leader in this specialist field and I believe it has a bright future ahead. It’s also great news for our investors that we have achieved such a healthy return in just two years. It has been a pleasure working with Mat and the CPMS team and we wish them well for the future.”

Mat Baine added: “This acquisition brings together two complementary businesses, in terms of professional skills, ambition and values. Both Egis and CPMS have similar cultures, with each of us striving to provide high quality service offerings to our clients and to offer growth and career development opportunities to our employees. This acquisition not only gives us a strategic edge to strengthen our existing portfolio in the UK for the benefit of our clients, it also enables our workforce to further develop their career by accessing worldwide opportunities within the group.”

YFM and the management team were advised by Sarah Souter and Rachel Cox of Gateley plc, and by Mark Lucas of Quantuma.

The story was picked up AltAssets.net in their article YFM seals quick 2x return selling CPMS to French engineering major Egis.