RAG-Stiftung (Foundation) Investment Company, the investment arm of Germany’s largest coal mining corporation, has purchased a majority stake in London-based engineering consultancy Pell Frischmann.
The investment company has purchased the stakes previously owned by the Frischmann family and part of the Prabhu family to take a majority share of the business.
Pell Frischmann employs more than 1,000 staff worldwide with eight offices across the UK and international offices in India, the Middle East, Turkey and Romania. Established by Cecil Pell in the 1920s, the company formed a partnership with Dr Wilem Frischmann in the early 1970s to form Pell Frischmann.
Wilem Frischmann will be stepping down from his role as chairman, to be replaced by Jürgen Wild, managing director of RAG-Stiftung Investment Company, and will take on a new role as a strategic adviser to the board. Senior management team members, Tushar Prabhu and Richard Barrett, will become co-CEOs.
Pell Frischmann worked on the Forth Rail Bridge restoration
Pell Frischmann has worked on some of the UK’s most iconic construction projects, including the refurbishment of the Bank of England, the University of Oxford’s New Bodleian Library and the Forth Rail Bridge restoration.
The RAG-Stiftung is plotting a course for the company to exit coal-mining by 2018, and has recently made a string of acquisitions in medium-sized German businesses.
Wild said: “Our strategy is to invest in market-leading firms with an international reach and a strong existing management team that delivers steady returns and growth. Pell Frischmann fits our criteria perfectly. A highly respected engineering consultancy that has an enviable reputation of combining cutting-edge technical expertise with superior customer service. I am committed to support the team growing the business both in the UK and abroad.”
Frischmann added: “Throughout my career I am honoured to have worked with some of the best engineering minds on some of the world’s most exciting engineering projects. Pell Frischmann has grown to become one of the most respected consultant engineers in the business, and I am delighted that we have found an investment partner to help continue this legacy and provide an ideal platform for further growth.”
The move illustrates the appeal of UK construction businesses to overseas players – a theme explored in this month’s report: Foreign acquisitions: Troubled waters.
