In December 2015 Maven sold its investment in Westway Services (Westway), a provider of facility solutions to the built environment, to US-based ABM; generating a 6.8x total return on the original investment for Maven clients. Founded in 2001, Westway provides an integrated range of technical building services on both planned and reactive maintenance contracts. The business has evolved to offer clients a full range of mechanical and electrical engineering services covering infrastructure such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and electrical installations.
Maven funded the original MBO of London-based Westway in 2009 and have since helped grow its footprint throughout the UK. At the time of the first investment by Maven, Westway had a turnover of less than £10 million and employed 38 people from a single office location in West London. Under the leadership of Managing Director Andy Donnell, the business has since achieved significant year-on-year growth, and following a secondary management buy-out led by Maven in 2014, has expanded further with forecast turnover set to exceed £50 million this year, annual earnings in excess of £5 million, and now employing 535 people across its UK offices in Ruislip (West London), Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, and Northampton.
Maven has consistently seen the potential of Westway’s business model, having backed the management team on two occasions, and today’s sale, which delivers a healthy 6.8x total return on the original investment. The growth in turnover, profit and employees is an excellent example of how Maven’s ability to offer flexible funding solutions can help businesses like Westway to achieve scale.
Andrew Ferguson, Partner at Maven
