Evelyn Partners’ Cambridge office has completed the sale of independent environmental consultancy, Seed Environmental, to Celnor.

Celnor is a private equity-backed testing, inspection, certification and compliance (TICC) services provider, and has acquired Seed Environmental for an undisclosed sum.

Seed Environmental was established in 2013 by Matthew Watts and Andrew Matley, and offers a range of environmental, property incident response, remediation and restoration services to clients spanning various industries across both public and private sectors.

The sale marks the latest foray into the sector by Evelyn Partners, which has previously advised on the sales of Tri Fire to Phenna Group and Crowthorne to Normec.

Evelyn Partners were appointed by Seed Environmental to identify a buyer and ran a competitive sale process, then negotiated and advised on all financial and commercial aspects of the deal.

The firm was supported by local law firm Birketts, which advised on all legal aspects of the transaction.

Evelyn Partners Corporate Finance is a UK member firm of Oaklins International, a global advisory firm of mergers and acquisitions, and financial advisory professionals.

Oaklins Evelyn Partners associate director, David Ball, who led the deal, 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.”

Seed Environmental co-founder, Matthew Watts, said that while there were many ups and downs along the way, Evelyn Partners’ support and advice throughout the process was “first class”.

“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,” he added.

Birketts’ Corporate Team partner, James Allen, commented: “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.”

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