Sullivan Street Partners

Sullivan Street Partners is proud to announce its exit from grounds maintenance company Tivoli Group Limited to the Nurture Group. Tivoli services both public and private sectors across the UK completing projects in grounds and winter maintenance, arboriculture, as well as interior plants and floristry. Under Sullivan Street’s stewardship, Tivoli has comprehensively upgraded its equipment base, introduced improved customer service systems and technology and built up its extensive client portfolio. In addition, its growth has been both organic and through M&A with the bolt-ons of Sodexo Horticultural Services and Greenfingers Group to extend its national reach and service capabilities. The operational improvements made have positioned the company as the fourth largest player in the grounds maintenance and landscaping industry. Layton Tamberlin, Co-Founder and Managing Partner comments: “In many ways this was a classic Sullivan Street deal, where we were not deterred by significant complexity on entry and were ready to roll up our sleeves to tackle the business’ operational challenges in the early years of our ownership. We know Nurture well and believe Tivoli is going to an excellent home, and will be a perfect fit to continue delivering a best-in-class service to its customers.” #privateequity #exit #complex #groundsmaintenance #landscaping

Richard Sanders shared with Paul Francis-Grey what sets Sullivan Street Partners apart in a recent GP profile for Actum Group, exploring how our willingness to go against the grain has led to many opportunities and success stories. He explains how the firm’s people-centric ethos allows for a deep understanding of our portfolio companies and their respective sectors. Sullivan Street’s latest investment in UKAT: Private Addiction Rehabilitation & Mental Health Services showcases this in action as we built up our knowledge of the business from the inside out, developing strong relationships with the management team and ensuring that UKAT’s values are protected and enhanced.   Richard also discusses how Sullivan Street’s sector-agnostic approach and expertise in navigating complex transactions allows the firm to make meaningful transformation in spaces which others have overlooked. When acquiring Tivoli Group Limited, we recognised its inherent value in what others saw as a ‘difficult carve-out situation'. We find our opportunities in looking past the surface level.   It was a pleasure to catch up with Paul to discuss our unique strategy and the complexities that come with it!   #privateequity #complexity #profile #valuecreation

Managing Partner Richard Sanders explored the topic of value creation from an operational standpoint with ION Analytics’ Giovanni Amodeo in a recent fireside chat.   In this conversation, Richard explains how the firm’s unique model generates meaningful value and the way this is reflected in the risks and return for investors. He also discusses how Sullivan Street Partners allocates support to portfolio companies, different approaches to incentivise a management team and the importance of diversity when generating higher returns.   Check out a snippet from Richard below on the key milestones that are considered once we’ve invested in a company.   Thank you to Giovanni for giving us an opportunity to share our thoughts and strategy. If you’re interested in hearing more about Sullivan Street’s investment thesis and approach to working with its portfolio companies, click on the following link to watch the full video: https://bit.ly/4eStvOb   #privateequity #valuecreation #portfoliocompany #complexity #diversity

According to Actum Group’s latest deep dive, UK corporate carve-outs remained low in the first half of 2024. Sullivan Street Partners’ Zeina Bain and Richard Sanders shared their thoughts on why this might be, explained the risks and rewards associated, and described their experience with this type of transaction. Both Managing Partners highlighted the intricate and uncertain nature of carve-outs compared to traditional private equity deals, requiring patience and expertise to be successfully delivered. In their outlook, they also detail some of the factors that are driving these transactions, such as portfolio simplification and multiple re-rating, among others. At Sullivan Street, we don’t shy away from the complexities involved in carve-outs and have built up extensive experience in simplifying the separation process. We take a people-centric approach to building transformations ensuring the continuity of a company’s core strengths whilst adding new scalable capabilities. As always, we enjoyed having the opportunity to share our market perspective with Jonathan Klonowski and Paul Francis-Grey and contribute to a wider discussion alongside Ramon de la Sota from Parlementia Capital Partners and Stephen Cooney-Grayburn from BDO UK LLP. #privateequity #carveouts #complexity 

We’re proud to see our portfolio company Octavius Infrastructure ’s work showcased on BBC News Points West! After two years of closures due to a landslip in Lyneham Banks, the through road B4069 in Wiltshire is finally stable enough for renovation. Octavius’ highways team is working hard to rebuild this passage and reconnect communities in Spring 2025. This is one among many of the impressive projects that Octavius has won this year, and demonstrates the business’ commitment to supporting local communities across the nation through their unique expertise. Congratulations to Octavius and thank you to Wiltshire Council for their trust. #infrastructure #highwayrepair #portfoliocompany #community

Sullivan Street Partners has acquired UKAT: Private Addiction Rehabilitation & Mental Health Services after a highly complex administration and sales process. UKAT is the nation’s leading residential addiction treatment group. Operating over 200 beds across eight residential facilities in the UK, it specialises in comprehensive care and rehabilitation services for alcoholism, substance abuse, and wider behavioural health conditions. Sullivan Street’s acquisition of UKAT will free the business of its restrictive ownership challenges and support its mission to provide best-in-class outcomes to vulnerable patients in a chronically underserved market. We've forged strong relationships with UKAT's management team and developed a comprehensive knowledge of the sector. We're excited to begin working on our plans spanning the next five years which will include an ambitious expansion of UKAT's facilities and service offerings. Layton Tamberlin, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, comments: “We have deep respect for CEO Daniel Gerrard and his drive to provide the best possible outcomes for UKAT’s patients and stakeholders, and persevering through challenging periods of fraught ownership. We are confident in UKAT’s resilience, and look forward to providing the business with the necessary capital and guidance to thrive.” #privateeequity #acquisition #healthcare #complex

Sullivan Street Partners’ Richard Sanders joined the Real Deals editorial team and industry peers for the publication’s August Value Creation roundtable at Fortnum & Mason. Richard discussed the strategies that private equity firms can use to grow and strengthen their portfolio companies alongside Steve Butterworth from Neighbourly, Confidas People’s Bruce Douglas, Marvin Fletcher Rogers from Sage, William Gresty from BGF, WestBridge’s James MacLeay, Valerie Monk from Montagu, and GRAPH Strategy’s James Tetherton. They covered a wide range of topics, including how to navigate organic growth, the fresh perspective private equity investors can bring to businesses, and ESG as an essential avenue for value creation. Richard provided insight into how Sullivan Street retains top talent, methods for assessing a company’s purpose and culture whilst conducting financial due diligence, and how the firm remains authentic in its investments. We have a unique experience transforming businesses in the face of complexity and creating value sustainably whilst ensuring meaningful change and strong returns. Thank you to all of the participants and to Real Deals for inviting us to partake in such a pertinent conversation. Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/epKk_mrt #valuecreation #ESG #privateequity #roundtable

Sullivan Street Partners offers a closer look at its portfolio company, Octavius Infrastructure , celebrating its success and reflecting on its evolution. Sullivan Street carved out Octavius Infrastructure in 2021 from its parent company Geoffrey Osborne Group. The business had established a strong reputation in rail and road infrastructure services built on a highly collaborative, customer-centric culture. Many financial buyers would not have been comfortable with the work and risks involved in the separation. However, with a dedicated team and a clear vision, we were able to establish Octavius as a fully independent entity within nine months. Once independent, Sullivan Street has played a pivotal role in growing Octavius’ value, setting ambitious goals for expansion, regional diversification and operational efficacy, and focus on electrification, complex projects, and impactful civil engineering. Richard Sanders, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, said: “Thanks to our partnership, the excellent management team, and hard work across the organisation, Octavius has had unprecedented success, emerging as the only contractor in the UK to win frameworks across all four regions in England & Wales. By adding electrification capabilities and a design business, Octavius is very well placed to drive great results for its clients, keeping the trains running and the roads working.” In 2023 alone, Octavius made two bolt-on acquisitions - R&W, a civil engineering contractor specialising in highway and engineering services, and Navitas Engineering Ltd, a railway consultant providing electrification, engineering, and design services to infrastructure supply industries. In addition to assisting the company in its financial growth, Sullivan Street has also commited to key social and environmental initiatives. Octavius has generated over £80 million through local supply chain partnerships, partaken in over 2000 hours of volunteering initiatives, and taken on 25 apprentices. The business has also made great strides in its environmental objectives, reducing its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 27%, and is on track to achieve its ambitious goal of net zero emissions by 2035. #valuecreation #portfoliocompany #privateequity

Sullivan Street Partners’ Zeina Bain spoke on Nurole's most recent panel focusing on M&A and investments. The discussion highlighted how boards can support M&A activities and delved into the impact of board involvement on company culture. Zeina emphasised the importance of a people-centric narrative in private equity, combined with effective problem-solving, when engaging with management teams. She was joined by Stuart Ord from Deutsche Numis and Martin McCourt, Former CMO and EVP of Strategy & Innovations at Thales Digital Identity and Security, who all provided invaluable insights. We always enjoy contributing to such pertinent discussions and sharing our perspective alongside fellow industry experts. Many thanks to Nurole for organising this dynamic panel discussion! Check out a snippet from Zeina below on ensuring business strategy alignment when it comes to investing and exiting companies. To watch the full video and similar discussions, explore the Nurole Board Community here: https://lnkd.in/eG_pHfiJ #privateequity #mergersandacquisitions #investments #companyculture

It's been an exciting few days for two of Sullivan Street Partners' portfolio companies, with Octavius Infrastructure 's Wales and Western teams spending their summer team day at The Wave in Bristol!   As people-driven and supportive investors, we are committed to supporting our investments and helping them thrive. We are proud to be driving growth in our portfolio companies, and to see Octavius making the most of The Wave's summer offering and enjoy a well-deserved break.    #portfoliocompanies #teamday #privateequity