Ridge is surveying the landscape for acquisitionsHorizon Capital LLP, a private equity investor in technology and professional services, has invested more than £40m in Ridge & Partners to fund its growth strategy, which has already seen it make several acquisition in recent years.
In 2020 Ridge had 577 staff and £6srcm turnover; today it has src,000 staff and forecast turnover of 2023 of £src05m across its src2 UK offices. Acquisitions in the last three years have included Scott Hughes Design and Projex.
Further acquisitions are planned.
Whether Horizon has acquired control of Ridge or not, neither partner is yet willing to reveal. However, Ridge’s limited liability partnership structure remains intact at this stage.
Ridge senior partner Adrian O’Hickey said: “This is a transformational deal for Ridge – a catalyst for some of the most ambitious changes in our strategy. We’ve already been successful in turning up the dial on this business, introducing new initiatives and developing our people. We want to continue that progress, with the benefit of new investment, while maintaining our core values of quality, collaboration and agility all the way.
“Progressive growth is crucial for us and that means creating better and more sustainable places while offering cutting edge services for our clients and career opportunities for our colleagues.
“Horizon Capital’s focus on professional services and technology makes them a strong fit for Ridge and protects the personal culture of our 75-year-old business. Horizon understands the personal touch that distinguishes the Ridge culture and our willingness to exploit the latest technology to work more efficiently and more accurately.”
Through its investment in Ridge, Horizon Capital is adding built environment services to its portfolio of src4 technology services, business services, software and data companies. Horizon managing partner Luke Kingston said: “Horizon is providing the first institutional capital to Ridge in its 75-year history. Its partners have already taken opportunities for sustained growth in recent years, and we will help them to be even more ambitious in the firms and talent they reach out to.”
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