Merebrook Consulting is moving forward as an independent environmental engineering consultancy following its disinvestment from IDOM Group.
Established in 1997 and based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Merebrook operates mainly in the construction industry. It provides consultancy in the fields of air quality and odour, asbestos in the ground, civil engineering, contaminated land, environmental compliance, geotechnical engineering, health and safety, and materials management and waste.
The company was acquired by Bilbao-based IDOM Group in 2008, but its future will be with M&L Holdings following a transaction led by Matthew Sibley, KBS Corporate Associate Director.
M&L Holdings is a portfolio of businesses within the construction, building products and associated industries headed by Mark Lavender, who brings over 30 years of leadership, management, sales and commercial expertise across B2B environments.
Mark was attracted by the type of opportunity Merebrook presented and explained: “The initial appeal was that this was a corporate disinvestment from IDOM, of which I’m familiar due to my corporate background.
“Soon after negotiations and meeting the Merebrook team, it was evident this business had a solid foundation based on its people, its technical reputation in the market and a strong focus on customer service.
“It was very evident that Merebrook would be an excellent platform to build a multi-disciplined environmental and engineering consultancy business to serve the construction and built environment industries.”
In announcing its new ownership, Merebrook said the change means it will “have more freedom to expand the services we offer, while keeping our focus on what matters most to us: reliability, technical expertise and a balanced, practical approach.”
The statement added: “A big thank you to IDOM for their support during our time together. We wish them every success for the future. Rob Glavin will continue to lead the team as Managing Director, bringing knowledge and excellent leadership to guide us through this exciting new phase.”
Rob Glavin, who will also own a small fraction of the company, said: “We will miss our former colleagues at IDOM and thank them for their support and friendship.
“Under our new ownership, we will strive to offer ongoing high-quality consultancy support, enhance our client relationships and to forge a first-class and supportive working environment.
“This marks a return for Merebrook Consulting as an independent consultancy and we are excited for the future.”
For KBS Corporate’s Matthew Sibley, this was a transaction which presented a different experience given its cross-border nature, negotiating with a Spanish-based group.
“It’s great to work with an international client and fulfil an uncommon transaction with a global company exiting a company from its own group,” said Matthew. “This broadened my experience while also using tried and tested valuation principles to achieve a successful outcome.”
Matthew gave credit to Emmanuella Tologiwa, KBS Corporate Transaction Support Executive, for being instrumental in the Due Diligence process, and to Rachel Bailey of K3 Law.
