Westbridge Capital takes majority stake in Alpine Fire Engineers

Officially concluded in December 2022, the definitive agreement secures a majority stake in Alpine Fire Engineers for the acquiring private equity firm WestBridge. This secondary buyout formally organizes the complete exit of Soho Square Capital, concluding an initial investment cycle that began in 2018 under the supervision of Director David Steel and Consultant Howard Chan. During its four-year holding period, Soho Square Capital financed expansion plans that successfully multiplied sales and EBITDA metrics by over fourfold. To execute this ownership transition, WestBridge injects an exact equity ticket of £18.7 million to capture Alpine Fire Engineers, marking the tenth active investment finalized directly from the WestBridge Fund II vehicle. The structured corporate handover empowers the existing management team to remain in place and execute an independent strategy focused on expanding into new sectors and executing strategic bolt-on acquisitions. At the time of the transaction, Alpine Fire Engineers demonstrated a robust financial profile, recording an annual turnover of £50–100M for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. The strategic rationale articulated by the investment board of WestBridge capitalizes on the increasing regulatory requirements driving compliance within the niche mechanical fire protection market. The execution of this middle-market transaction was supported by a dedicated advisory consortium. Soho Square Capital and Alpine Fire Engineers retained Clearwater International to provide comprehensive corporate finance guidance. Legal structuring for Soho Square Capital and the acquired business was coordinated by Addleshaw Goddard. To complete the pre-transaction audits, the exiting shareholders mandated Grant Thornton to deliver the financial due diligence reports, while Strategy & was retained to execute the commercial due diligence protocols.

In the past, Alpine Fire Engineers was acquired by Soho Square Capital in 2018 as part of its expansion strategy.