Evelyn Partners’ Cambridge office completes sale of leading environmental specialist

Seed Environmental, established in 2013 by environmental specialists Matthew Watts and Andrew Matley, has been acquired by the private equity-backed Testing, Inspection, Certification and Compliance (“TICC”) services provider, Celnor.

The deal adds to a growing list of credentials in the sector for Evelyn Partners, which has previously advised on the sale of Tri Fire to Phenna Group and Crowthorne to Normec.

Evelyn Partners, who were appointed by the founders to identify a buyer for the business, ran a highly competitive sale process, and then negotiated and advised on all financial and commercial aspects of the deal. It was supported by a team from local law firm Birketts, led by James Allen and Simona Gruodyte, who advised on all legal aspects of the transaction.

Seed is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading environmental specialists, offering a broad range of intelligent environmental, property incident response, remediation and restoration services to clients spanning various industries across both public and private sector alike. 

David Ball, who led the deal from Evelyn Partners, said: “It’s been a pleasure working with Matt, Andrew and the wider Seed team over the last few months. We’re delighted to have advised them throughout this competitive process and have secured an outstanding result for both the shareholders and the company. Celnor is a serial acquirer of growing TICC businesses and is perfectly placed to support the team as the business enters its next phase of growth. The deal is another example of us being able to bring to bear our considerable experience of working with fast growing entrepreneurial businesses, operating alongside shareholders and management teams to support their growth journey and position them in the best possible way for an exit.”

Matthew Watts, co-founder of Seed, commented: “We will be forever grateful to David and the Evelyn Partners team for all their help in negotiating and delivering this deal on our behalf, and for guiding us through what was a complex and often challenging transaction. Whilst there were many ups and downs along the way, they were always there to offer reassurance when required, and the support and advice we received throughout has been first class. Their drive and determination to get the right deal for the shareholders was exceptional. We would highly recommend Evelyn Partners to anyone looking to sell their business and cannot thank the team enough for their unwavering commitment and effort in getting the deal done.”

James Allen, Partner in Birketts’ Corporate Team, said: “Birketts was delighted to act on behalf of Matthew Watts, Andrew Matley, Nicholas Mullen and the other shareholders in the sale of Seed Environmental Group to Celnor. It was a pleasure to work with the shareholders to secure the next stage of growth for the Seed companies, bringing additional investment that will help the team to achieve their goals. I wish the management team, and Seed’s employees, the very best for the future as part of the Group.”

Evelyn Partners Corporate Finance is a UK member firm of Oaklins International Inc, a leading global advisory firm of M&A and financial advisory professionals.

For more information, please contact David directly at David.Ball@evelyn.com or D.Ball@ep.oaklins.com.