Westbridge backs MBO of Survey Solutions

Private equity firm WestBridge has completed a secondary buyout of Land Survey Solutions Limited (t/a Survey Solutions), a leading provider of engineering surveying and monitoring services to a range of sectors across the UK.

The transaction provides an exit for RJD Partners and the founder James Cooper, and sees WestBridge invest £14.2 million to take a majority stake in the business. The deal marks the second platform investment from WestBridge III.

First formed in 1997, Survey Solutions has experienced impressive growth to become a national company with 14 regional offices and 160 full time employees, most of whom are specialist surveyors. The business has also expanded its service offering to clients, adding capabilities such as drone surveying and hydrographics.

Survey Solutions provides land, building, underground and site surveys, along with a range of support services covering the lifecycle of a development. Working predominantly with housebuilders, contractors, architects, engineering consultants, agents and asset owners, the business works on projects in a diverse range of sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, defence, transport, energy, retail, leisure, healthcare, education, heritage, and commercial and residential construction. It has a broad range of clients including Thames Water, Transport for London, Aecom, Jacobs, Balfour Beatty and Kier.

The buyout was led by David Lowe, who joined the company as CEO in 2022, along with the senior management team who have all been instrumental in driving growth over the last few years, both organically and through acquisition.

PMSI provided the VCDD for the deal, including analysis of Survey Solutions addressable market, a forecast of the UK construction cycle, and an assessment of the opportunities from new innovative technologies emerging in the market (e.g. BIM and ‘digital twins’). PMSI also conducted a customer referencing process along with an analysis of Survey Solution’s competitive positioning.