National fire protection firm acquires North East company to further growth

A national fire protection specialist has made a strategic North East bolt-on acquisition as it targets further significant growth.

The Fieldway Group, based in Liverpool, founded in 2006 by CEO Brian Murphy and backed since 2018 by leading SME investor Foresight Group (“Foresight”), has bought North East-based Intumescent Protective Coatings Limited (“IPCL”).

IPCL is a provider of specialist fire protection services including structural fire protection and fire stopping. These have been applied and installed to a number of landmark buildings including The Shard, Battersea Power Station, O2 Arena and 22 Bishopsgate.

Headquartered in North Shields, IPCL has around 45 employees and annual revenues in excess of £3m. Its MD and co-founder, Chris Arnott, and his co-directors are joining the enlarged business at completion.

Brian Murphy, CEO of Fieldway, comments: “There is a near perfect synergy between the two businesses, and I am delighted that Foresight introduced me to Chris and the IPCL team. While we are specialists in active fire protection, IPCL is a leader in passive protection and has worked on some of the UK’s most iconic buildings.

“Alongside the strong organic growth we are seeing, we are open to further earnings-enhancing and complementary acquisitions - such as IPCL - as we look to grow to over £20m in revenues over the next two years.”

David Turner, director at Foresight, added: “We are delighted to support Fieldway with this important transaction as it continues to expand in the fire protection market. The acquisition of IPCL both strengthens Fieldway’s service offering and opens up the North East and London markets to the wider group.

“Since our investment in 2018, the Fieldway team has nearly doubled from 35 to more than 60, and we expect this number to continue to grow throughout this year.”