Horizon Capital takes majority stake in Churches Fire
Context
In 2023, private equity sponsor Horizon Capital executed a strategic reinvestment in its portfolio company Churches Fire, renewing its long-term commitment to the UK compliance and fire safety platform. Originally backing the business in 2017, Horizon structured this follow-on transaction to support the next phase of the group's scaling strategy while providing ongoing institutional backing to the management team. Growth capital from this transaction is earmarked to accelerate Churches Fire's programmatic buy-and-build strategy across the fragmented UK fire safety and electronic security market. Proceeds will fund an active pipeline of bolt-on acquisitions, expand technological capabilities across access control and remote monitoring, and build out recurring service lines. Under Horizon's ownership, the company has scaled annual revenues beyond £40 million, serving over 13,000 commercial customers nationwide.
Churches Fire, which reported an EBITDA margin of in 2021, is valued in this transaction at an EV/EBITDA multiple of , a level to compare with the average currently observed in the Business Services sector (11.4x).
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Target
Churches Fire provides end-to-end fire safety and security compliance services to more than 15,000 commercial customers across the UK. Operating in highly regulated markets, the business specializes in fire risk assessments, statutory scheduled maintenance, and ongoing monitoring of active detection systems, containment infrastructure, evacuation equipment, and electronic security solutions. Under CEO Charlie Haynes, the company has executed an aggressive buy-and-build strategy, acquiring and integrating 14 regional businesses to date. Its strategic objective is to become the UK's leading independent fire safety and compliance provider. Governance is further supported by Non-Executive Director Adam Lewis on the board.
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REFERENCES
Revenue range: 50M - 100M GBP
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Press release: view release
Target: churches fire
Acquirer: horizon capital