Premier Modular, one of the UK’s leading offsite construction specialists, has announced the acquisition of NetZero Buildings by the Premier Group for an undisclosed sum.
NetZero Buildings and Premier Modular are both part of Cabot Square’s private equity portfolio. The consolidation creates one of the strongest groups in the fast-growing offsite sector.
NetZero Buildings specialises in the design, manufacture and delivery of some of the UK’s most energy-efficient school buildings. It is an award-winning offsite manufacturer and leasing specialist, and has a number of flagship low carbon education schemes currently underway following its success on the multi-billion pound Department for Education MMC1 framework. These include a £10.7m, 140-place net zero pathfinder scheme for the new Treetops Free School in Essex.
Premier is on track to increase turnover from £65m in 2020 to more than £100m this year, and generating a healthy return for investors.
Commenting on the acquisition, David Harris, Managing Director of Premier Modular, said, “We see fantastic synergies and potential for collaboration between our two businesses. Premier offers new routes to market for NetZero Buildings and the opportunity to deliver their innovative building solutions to new customer segments in addition to their strong presence in the education sector.”
“The NetZero team brings tremendous expertise in sustainable building solutions which will supercharge our strategy for Premier to become a market leader in the delivery of low carbon buildings to the benefit our customers and the communities in which we live and work.”
“The acquisition will further strengthen our position in the education sector, and expands our range of offsite building systems to give us even more design flexibility and the opportunity for hybrid construction solutions to meet customer requirements.”
Keith Maddin, Partner at Cabot Square, said, “Premier has grown rapidly year-on-year and has become one of the highest performing and profitable businesses in the dynamic offsite sector. It has strong leadership and manufactures high quality buildings for hire, long-term lease and sale. We believe this acquisition, the huge potential for collaboration, and the strong environmental credentials that NetZero brings, will accelerate Premier’s journey to becoming one of the leading offsite businesses in Europe.”
Premier Modular was established in 1956 and is based in East Yorkshire where it has five factories on a 22-acre site. It offers a full range of design, offsite manufacturing, fitting out and construction services to public and private sector clients, and contractors.
Premier specialises in delivering high quality, affordable and sustainable buildings in diverse markets including education, commercial, industrial, construction, healthcare, and residential. In the past year it has invested significantly in its hire business to meet growing demand and it now has one of the newest fleets in the UK.
Current projects include a £1.5m contract in partnership with Zedpods to manufacture affordable housing for Bromley Council, and a £3m contract to provide two buildings at RAF Leeming. A £3m Patient Recovery Unit has recently been completed for Kier at Truro Hospital.
