Victanis has acted as exclusive financial adviser to CERTANIA Holding GmbH (“CERTANIA”), an international Testing, Inspection & Certification company and a portfolio company of GREENPEAK Partners and Summit Partners, on its acquisition of ICA Group Limited (“ICA Group”), a UK-based multi-disciplinary group of specialist businesses delivering inspections, building control, and compliance services, from CEPS Plc, private investors and management.
Based in Rotherham, ICA Group comprises several individual businesses that have decades of collective experience working on a diverse portfolio of construction projects for clients across all regions of the UK. These include Cook Brown Building Control, Hickton Quality Control, Morgan Lambert, Qualitas Compliance and Align Building Control. ICA brings together specialist capabilities across four core service streams: quality site inspection (Clerk of Works / NEC supervision), building control, gas & electrical auditing (particularly in social housing), and building regulation and fire safety consultancy – supporting clients across the UK construction sector with a strong focus on safe, compliant and high-quality project delivery.
With ICA joining the group, CERTANIA continues to develop its UK Buildings & Infrastructure platform, bringing together complementary expertise to support clients in an environment shaped by increasing requirements for regulatory assurance, building safety and compliance. The addition of ICA broadens CERTANIA’s service coverage across the building lifecycle and strengthens its ability to support clients with trusted assurance services in essential areas of the built environment.
Victanis originated the opportunity for and positioned CERTANIA to successfully engage with the ICA Group shareholders. The team have successfully managed the acquisition process, including deal structuring, due diligence and SPA negotiations to completion.
This transaction underscores Victanis’ position as a leading adviser to investors and businesses within the Built Environment compliance sector across the UK and Europe, having recently advised on the sale of London Building Control to Bureau Veritas UK.
CERTANIA was advised by Marc de Thomasson, Managing Partner, Rostyslav Zhuk, Partner, and Charles Sunderland, Manager.
Marc de Thomasson, Managing Partner, Victanis, commented, “We are delighted to have advised CERTANIA on its acquisition of ICA Group. ICA Group is a forward-thinking firm with a unique value proposition and an ambitious management team that have found the ideal partner in CERTANIA.”
Karsten Xander, Founder & Managing Director, CERTANIA, said “Victanis brought ICA Group to CERTANIA as a genuinely off-market opportunity and added real momentum from the outset. Their commercial insight, sector expertise and proactive management supported the process from first approach to signing. They combined strategic thinking with practical execution, and we felt very well supported throughout. We would gladly recommend Victanis to any acquirer seeking differentiated deal access and strong commercial guidance.”
Matt Brown and James Cook, Group Managing Directors, ICA Group, added “Joining CERTANIA marks an exciting next step for ICA. It was important to us to find a long-term partner that supports our ambition while allowing us to stay true to who we are – our people, our culture, and the way we work with clients. We look forward to building on our momentum as part of CERTANIA’s Buildings & Infrastructure Segment.”
Victanis’ TIC team specialises in corporate advisory and strategic consultancy driving transaction support for both our buy-side and sell-side clients. If you would like to discuss acquisition strategy, off-market origination, or commercial due diligence support in the TIC and built environment sectors, please get in touch.
