International law firm Hill Dickinson has advised Celnor Group, a platform for testing, inspection, certification, and compliance (TICC) businesses, on its acquisition of Aitken Laboratories Limited which has become part of Celnor Group’s built environment division, joining MATtest Site Services Limited.
Celnor Group is backed by private equity house Inflexion, whose industry-leading expertise in consolidating the TICC market aims to build the business with an ambitious acquisition strategy.
Aitken Laboratories Limited is a family-owned, independent site investigation contractor and geotechnical testing laboratory, operating in Scotland and the North of England offering geotechnical, mineral, and environmental investigations both on-site and from its UKAS-accredited laboratory, including cable and hydraulic percussion boring, rotary drilling, window sampling, trial pitting and more.
Simon Parrington, chief executive officer of Celnor Group, said: “Aitken Laboratories has a great heritage stretching back over 50 years. I am delighted that Celnor Group has been trusted with its stewardship and I look forward to working with John, Alastair, and the team. Alongside MATtest Site Services Limited, we are now able to offer a suite of material, environmental and geotechnical testing, both on-site and in UKAS-accredited laboratories, to help the construction industry mitigate risks, comply with regulations, and deliver safe, durable, and cost-effective projects.”
David Mkhitarian and Graeme Anderson of Hill Dickinson’s Private Equity team led on the provision of legal advice to Celnor Group, with assistance from Charlotte Killeen.
Graeme Anderson said: “We are delighted to support Simon and the Celnor Group on its ninth acquisition in the past year. It’s been an incredible growth journey to date and each acquisition complements the strong presence that the Celnor Group already has in the market. We wish all parties every success on the new partnership.”
Mark Leyland, corporate finance director at RSM, led on the provision of financial and tax due diligence support in relation to each acquisition.
