H.I.G. Capital Acquires Classic Lifts Limited

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative asset investment firm with $53 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has acquired Classic Lifts Limited (“Classic” or the “Company”), a leading UK provider of lift engineering and maintenance services. Classic’s current management team will reinvest alongside H.I.G. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Classic provides lift installation and maintenance services from seven branches across the UK. The business has developed a strong reputation for high-quality service provision in its market, having grown both organically and inorganically in recent years. H.I.G., together with the management team, aims to continue Classic’s track record of growth, both through M&A and organically, to become the market-leading independent service provider.

Classic follows on from H.I.G.’s acquisition of CPS, a leading mechanical and electrical building services provider in the UK, as the second business within a broader technical building services group. It will form the core of the lift installation and maintenance offering within the group. Further acquisitions are anticipated across fire protection, water and pumps, access and security, and associated compliance services.

Keith Snow, CEO of Classic, remarked, “We are very pleased to be joining H.I.G. as they work to build a leading technical building services group that shares our focus on customer service. This is the start of the next phase of growth for Classic as we look to continue our M&A strategy and build on customer relationships across both Classic and CPS.”

Jonathan Simpson-Dent said, “Keith and his team have built Classic into a leading national lift servicing business over the course of the past decade with a demonstrated track record of delivering quality to Classic’s customers. I’m excited to be working with Keith and his team to drive further growth at Classic and to continue our acquisitive technical services growth strategy.”

John Harper, Managing Director at H.I.G., said, “We are very excited to be partnering with Keith and the Classic team to build on the Company’s track-record of success. Classic’s long-term growth record, talented staff and strong reputation with their customers were core to our interest in the business. We are pleased that the team has decided to join our group of technical building services companies.”

About Classic Lifts

Classic is a leading independent lift installation and maintenance company with branches across the UK. Classic is passionate about using its local presence and technical expertise to deliver great customer service centred around the values of integrity, honesty and reliability. For more details see www.classiclifts.co.uk/.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global alternative assets investment firm with $53 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bogotá, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

  1. H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
  2. H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
  3. H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
  4. H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.