Grant Thornton advises Elite Cleaning & Environmental Services Ltd Elite Cleaning & Environmental Services sold to Tenon Facilities Management UK

Elite Cleaning & Environmental Services Limited is a leading facilities management provider headquartered in Manchester with additional offices in Leeds and London.

Established in 1994 by majority shareholder Gerry McGrath, Elite offers a full range of cleaning services, as well as additional facilities management services and support services to clients across England from both the public and private sectors.

After many years in the facilities management sector, working for some of the largest companies, Gerry founded Elite as he believed a better service could be provided at a competitive price. This dedication to high-quality service led to continued growth with turnover reaching £12.3 million in 2016 with c.1,000 employees.

Our corporate finance team was introduced to Gerry in August 2016 in order for him to pass the business onto an acquirer who uphold the principles on which it was founded. During the meeting, the team demonstrated their in-depth knowledge in the facilities management sector having completed a significant number of similar transactions.

Using this sector knowledge, our team approached Tenon Facilities Management UK as part of a limited and focussed sell side process, after they previously acquired Office & General Group, another facilities management transaction that our corporate finance team successfully advised on. The deal sees Gerry remaining as a consultant to ensure a smooth transition and help deliver the continued growth in the Business.

After introducing the acquirer we provided full project management on the transaction, working closely with all parties to ensure the deal completed smoothly with minimum disruption to the Business. The deal realises the ambition of Gerry after over 20 years of work.