Sell your compliance, testing, inspection and certification business. To buyers who understand statutory recurring revenue.
You have built a business that keeps buildings safe and legally compliant. Fire systems tested. Fire doors inspected. Water systems monitored. Fixed wiring certified. Lifts examined. Ventilation cleaned. That work is mandated by law, renews every year, and is exactly what acquirers are competing to own.
Strictly confidential
Strictly confidential. Your personalized report is prepared by our internal team alone, the founder, head of M&A and associates. It is never shown to buyers or anyone outside the deal team without your permission.
Already know your number?
DealFlowAgent is a specialist M&A advisory for TIC and compliance owners across building services and facilities management in the UK and US. We run competitive processes that put multiple qualified offers on the table, so you choose the price, the terms and the buyer who will look after your engineers.
We advise owners serving commercial and institutional contract-holders. We do not advise on residential-only trade businesses.
Serial Acquirers in the Testing, Inspection & Compliance Space
These are a handful of the PE-backed platforms, listed groups and corporate acquirers building compliance and TIC businesses across the UK and US.
United Kingdom
Phenna Group (Oakley Capital)
Marlowe plcCelnor Group (Inflexion)
HSL Compliance (IK Partners)
SOCOTEC (Clayton, Dubilier & Rice)
Kiwa GroupUnited States
Intertek (Public)
Bureau Veritas (Public)
Element Materials Technology (Temasek)
Applus+ (I Squared & TDR)
Montrose Environmental (Public)+ 13,000 more registered acquirers with defined search criteria
What Every TIC Owner Needs to Know
You have almost certainly been approached. PE-backed compliance platforms, national groups and trade buyers adding certifications to their coverage. Most owners have no reliable way to tell who is genuinely buying, who has committed capital, and who will spend four months on diligence before retrading the price.
Without competing offers there is no leverage. The buyer sets the pace, anchors low, and waits for you to get tired.
"How much of my revenue will a buyer actually treat as recurring?"
Buyers separate statutory testing and planned maintenance contracts from reactive call-outs and project work. Contracted, renewable compliance income is what earns the highest multiple. Presented poorly, it gets lumped in with one-off works and undervalued.
"What happens to my engineers and their accreditations?"
Your BAFE, NICEIC, LCA, SafeContractor and scheme registrations sit with qualified people. Acquirers are buying that certified capability, so retaining your engineers on existing terms is usually in their commercial interest as well as yours.
"Tightening regulation keeps coming. Does that help or hurt my timing?"
Tightening building safety, water safety and electrical inspection duties expand the mandated work your business already performs. That regulatory direction of travel is a tailwind for acquirers building compliance platforms.
Compliance, testing, inspection and certification across building services and facilities management
Whatever you test, inspect, certify or maintain, the valuation logic is the same: mandated work, contracted revenue, accredited engineers, renewing customers. Every discipline below has its own advisory page with buyer activity, multiples and process detail.
Fire and life safety compliance
Mandated inspection, testing and certification under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and the Building Safety Act. BAFE, LPS and third party scheme registered work.
Fire safety inspection and maintenance
Extinguisher servicing, emergency lighting, remedial works and multi-discipline fire compliance contracts.
Fire alarm and detection
BS 5839 servicing, monitoring and installation across commercial and institutional estates.
Fire sprinkler and suppression
LPS 1048 sprinkler inspection, wet and dry riser testing, kitchen and gas suppression servicing.
Fire risk assessment
Type 1 to Type 4 assessments, remedial action tracking and responsible person advisory work.
Fire door inspection and installation
Quarterly and annual fire door inspection regimes, remedial joinery and certificated installation.
Passive fire protection
Compartmentation surveys, fire stopping, cavity barriers and golden thread evidence packs.
Water, air and environmental testing
Sampling, monitoring and certification regimes under ACoP L8, HSG274, TR19 and HSG264. Recurring by statute, not by preference.
Water hygiene and Legionella
Risk assessments, sampling and analysis, tank cleaning, chlorination and temperature monitoring.
HVAC and ventilation testing
TM44 inspections, TR19 duct hygiene, F-Gas compliance and indoor air quality testing.
Asbestos surveying and removal
HSG264 surveys, air monitoring, management plans and licensed removal.
Drainage inspection and jetting
CCTV surveys, planned drainage maintenance and reactive contract cover.
Pest control and prevention
Audited pest regimes for food, healthcare and education estates with documented site records.
Specialist and contract cleaning
Auditable hygiene standards across healthcare, education and commercial contracts.
Electrical, mechanical and access certification
Fixed installations, lifting equipment and building plant that carry a legal duty to inspect, certify and record.
Electrical testing and inspection
EICR and fixed wire testing, PAT, thermographic surveys and remedial works.
Lift and escalator examination
LOLER thorough examinations, planned maintenance, call-out cover and modernisation.
Building automation and controls
BMS servicing, energy optimisation and monitored plant performance contracts.
Commercial and industrial doors
Six monthly statutory inspection of powered doors, shutters and barriers under PUWER.
Energy assessment and compliance
EPC and ESOS assessment, metering and net zero reporting for commercial portfolios.
Heat pumps and low carbon plant
MCS certificated installation with servicing contracts attached to the installed base.
Security inspection and monitoring
NSI and SSAIB accredited work where the maintenance and monitoring contract, not the install, carries the value.
Electronic security and CCTV
Access control, CCTV and intruder systems on annual service and support agreements.
Alarm receiving and monitoring
ARC monitoring revenue, the most highly rated recurring line in the compliance sector.
Security guarding and manned services
SIA approved contractor status with contracted manned hours across multi-site estates.
Facilities management and estate-wide compliance
Owners who bundle multiple statutory disciplines into a single planned maintenance contract, self-delivered or managed.
Facilities management
Hard and soft FM providers holding multi-site, multi-year planned maintenance contracts.
Building services hub
The full index of building services and facilities management niches we advise on.
Waste and environmental services
Duty of care documentation, hazardous streams and contracted collection rounds.
Roofing inspection and maintenance
Planned roof surveys, fall arrest inspection and reactive fabric maintenance.
Scaffolding and access
Weekly statutory scaffold inspection and hire contracts against a rented asset base.
Property and estate services
Managing agents and estate operators buying compliance as a single accountable service.
Exits Advised by DealFlowAgent and Our Partner Advisors
Fire Alarm & Detection
£12M fire alarm and detection integrator with a substantial commercial maintenance base sold to a PE-backed compliance platform. All engineers retained on existing terms.
Legionella Compliance
LCA-certified Legionella compliance specialist with £2.5M in recurring revenue from 400+ monitoring contracts, acquired by a large, PE-backed environmental services group.
Fire Sprinkler & Suppression
£18M fire sprinkler and suppression contractor with national framework agreements sold to a PE-backed fire safety platform. Multiple competing offers received.
What Our Clients Say
Hear directly from business owners and advisors who've worked with us.
Watch Chris share his experience working with DealFlowAgent.
Hear how Saim successfully navigated his business sale.
Watch Nikki share her experience working with DealFlowAgent.
"I couldn't have asked for better support during my exit. They found the perfect acquirer and negotiated terms that exceeded my expectations."
What is your testing and inspection business actually worth?
Read our pillar guide on compliance, testing & inspection valuation multiples — the EBITDA bands buyers actually pay, the multiple drivers that move the needle, and what separates a mid-market deal from a premium exit.
Ready to Explore Your Options?
Book a confidential 30-minute call with our M&A advisory team. Whether you are selling this year or three years out, everything discussed stays between us.
Or call us directly: 020 7293 0327Speak with a senior adviser
Pick a time that suits. 20 minutes, confidential, no pitch.
Prefer to talk now? Call +44 20 7293 0327