Law firm Birketts has advised leading global facilities service provider OCS on their acquisition of FES FM and FES Support Services. The acquisition will double the size of OCS’s Hard Services division, creating a combined entity with over 4,000 engineers and annual revenues exceeding £600 million.
Founded in Scotland in 1999, FES FM and FES Support Services have built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality services to both private and public sector customers. Headquartered in Stirling, the businesses have a national presence, extensive service delivery capability and a large team of highly-trained mobile engineers, enabling them to provide first-rate support to their large network of customers with maximum efficiency.
The Birketts Team advising OCS was led by Partner Rafael Ruiz and Senior Associate Alex Forwood, and included Clare Barlow (Partner – Employment), Mark Gipson (Partner – Commercial and Technology), Alex Price (Associate – Corporate), Emma Nel (Solicitor, foreign qualified – Corporate Tax), and Matthew Grindley (Senior Associate – Real Estate). The deal marks the fifth UK acquisition for OCS in the last 12 months, and the fifth acquisition on which Birketts has advised OCS since its merger with Atalian Servest’s UK, Ireland, and Asia operations in 2023.
Daniel Dickson, UK & Ireland CEO of OCS said: “The FES companies’ exceptional track record in Hard Services, combined with longstanding customer relationships and regional strength, makes them an ideal fit for OCS as we look to expand our own Hard Services division. This acquisition not only enhances our offering but also provides us with the scale and resources needed to compete for the UK’s largest hard services and TFM contracts. The Birketts team once again delivered an exceptionally high standard of service throughout the transaction – thorough, plain speaking and they ensured our timing expectations were met.”
Speaking after the deal, Rafael Ruiz, Partner at Birketts, added: “It was a pleasure to once again advise OCS on their latest acquisition. Their resources and strategy will see FES FM and FES Support Services play a key role in the sector in the future, and the transaction demonstrated once again the strength in depth and Next Level standard of service Birketts’ Corporate Team is known for.”
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