The transaction marks the second acquisition Contollo has made this year after completing its inaugural partnership in February with Abacus, a leading cost and project management consultancy.

With offices in Manchester, Liverpool and London, TACE is a specialist building-services consulting-engineering practice which serves the public and private sectors with a focus on education, sports facilities and multi-unit accommodation. Its 35 staff will remain within the business operating from their existing office locations.

Speaking about the acquisition, Ruth Percival, CEO of Contollo Group, commented: “TACE has a reputation for excellence in engineering with a specialism in highly sustainable, large-scale, government-backed projects and we’re very proud to welcome them to the Contollo Group.

“Contollo was established to bring together highly respected regional consultancies, to create a national multi-disciplinary group and TACE is the first M&E consulting business to join.  

“We’ve built a great relationship with the leadership team and look forward to working with Nigel Griffiths, Nick Thomas and James Massey to help build our nationwide capacity and we expect to make further acquisitions imminently.”

Nigel Griffiths, director TACE added: “Joining the Contollo Group is the perfect next step for TACE as our business evolves. It will enable us to offer greater scale, expand our additional services and build our range of sector-specific capabilities.  Working within the Contollo Group will allow us to offer the same exceptional service to our clients, whilst also bringing extra benefits through our shared expertise and values.” 

Contollo Group has set out its ambition to acquire up to seven businesses in the North West, Midlands, and South East over the next five years as part of its ambitious growth programme, which now brings the head count in the Group to 140.

For Contollo, Langtons provided finance advisory and financial due diligence, Chiara Pettinicchio provided client-side deal support, Alvarez & Marsal Manchester provided corporate finance advisory and project management, Cowgills provided tax due diligence and Mills & Reeve provided legal support.

JMW Legal and Jones & Harris acted for TACE. 

About TACE

Founded in 1996, TACE is a mechanical and electrical engineering consultancy providing engineering advice and design services to a diverse range of clients across the public and private sectors. With offices in South Manchester, Liverpool and London, the company has established a strong reputation for excellence in engineering, innovation, and service, and has been responsible for many landmark schemes nationwide.

TACE’s growth over the past years has been founded on repeat business from both existing clients and referrals.

About NorthEdge

NorthEdge is a lower mid-market private equity firm headquartered in the North, owned, and built by its senior team, supported by a global blue chip investor base. They have £900m Assets Under Management across four regionally focused funds.

With presence across the North and Midlands, the NorthEdge team has a 25-year track record of investing in businesses with ambitious management teams and significant growth potential.

NorthEdge looks to invest in like-minded businesses and management teams who have real ambition and the potential to shape global markets from the UK regions. They back management teams in the Technology, Healthcare and Business Services sectors, who recognise the value of having an experienced business partner alongside them, supporting them to build a better business.