Mitie acquires Forest Group to expand engineering services
LONDON, ENGLAND — Mitie, a provider of facilities management and security solutions in the United Kingdom, has strengthened its technical services division with the acquisition of specialist engineering firm Forest Group Holdings.
The £7 million (US$9.3 million) deal brings critical refrigeration maintenance capabilities in-house, enabling Mitie to self-deliver these services for its major retail and hospitality clients.
Mitie’s end-to-end facilities and engineering offer
Mitie has grown since its 1987 founding into the United Kingdom’s technology-led facilities management and transformation company, employing 84,000 people.
The company also has an Offshore Delivery Center in Mumbai, India. It offers a range of offshore services, including security and intelligence, engineering, cleaning, compliance, guest services, property maintenance, and custody support for public- and private-sector clients.
On the other hand, Forest Group Holdings is a commercial refrigeration specialist with a team of engineers across the Midlands and Northern UK, and has become a trusted partner to several of the nation’s most recognized brands.
Mitie’s engineering move for retail, distribution
Mitie’s acquisition is a direct strategic move to broaden its self-delivery capabilities within its market-leading “Intelligent Engineering” proposition.
By acquiring Forest Group’s specialized skills, Mitie can now provide in-house commercial refrigeration system installation and maintenance services rather than contracting third parties.
The move, in particular, improves the services Mitie can offer to its established blue-chip customer base, which comprises national high street retailers and major supermarket chains with large refrigeration requirements.
The acquisition also presents a significant opportunity to scale Forest’s proven operational model into new sectors. Mitie plans to expand these refrigeration services nationally, specifically targeting the Retail and Distribution sectors where it already has a strong established presence through its Security and Hygiene services.
This strategy leverages Mitie’s extensive national footprint to grow the revenue of the newly acquired business, moving beyond Forest’s current primary focus on hospitality brands like Mitchells & Butlers, Greene King, and Wetherspoon.
Boosting technical services capabilities
The integration of Forest’s workforce and technology is pivotal to enhancing Mitie’s service delivery and data capabilities. Forest’s team of 40 specialist engineers will join Mitie’s Technical Services division, building upon its existing capabilities in Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) services, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), and decarbonization technologies.
This immediately adds a scaled, specialist workforce to Mitie’s operational roster, deepening its pool of engineering talent for complex client projects.
“This next step strengthens our platform for growth, enabling us to enhance our capabilities, support our colleagues, and deliver even greater value to customers,” said Neil Fraser, Joint Managing Director of Forest Group.
A key technological benefit of the acquisition is the ability to integrate refrigeration assets into Mitie’s centralized Building Management Systems (BMS).
This integration will allow more advanced, data-driven monitoring and predictive maintenance of these critical client assets as described by Adam Mitton of Mitie.
“As our customers’ needs for Integrated Facilities Management continue to grow, the acquisition of Forest brings a scaled workforce and specialist engineering capabilities that unlocks Mitie’s ability to self-deliver critical refrigeration engineering services across our clients’ estates,” said Adam Mitton, Technical Services Operating Officer of Mitie.
