In 2019, Paul Barry led the management buy-out of Hansen Aerospace and First Scottish Group with support from members of the Hansen family, which led to the establishment of Phenna.
Fast-forward to today, and we are proud to be a global provider of testing, inspection, certification and compliance services. Our dedicated people across our divisions support clients in regulated sectors by delivering mission-critical services with an unwavering commitment to quality and deliverability.
Here's how it happened.
The Phenna Group Journey So Far
2019
April 19 – Paul Barry, led the management buy-out (MBO) of Hansen Aerospace and First Scottish Group from a US Family Office, via strong management equity support from members of the ‘Hansen’ family and a committed debt facility from CVC Capital Partners. Phenna Group was officially formed. (‘Phenna’ being an acronym of Paul, his wife and his children’s first name initials).
May 19 – acquired Professional Soils Laboratory, a Doncaster-based accredited geotechnical and materials testing facility.
May 19 – acquisition of Building Envelope Technologies (BET), Ireland's leading provider of building airtightness testing, acoustic performance testing, and weather performance testing on building façade systems.
July 19 – further investment of over £4M in Hansen Aerospace, helping them to increase IUT NDT tank capacity and extend to an additional 15 thousand square feet facility.
September 19 - Group Management Electrical Surveys was acquired. GMES provides many of the EU's leading companies with electrical inspection, test, and documentation services.
October 19 – acquired ACS, a specialist site and laboratory testing company (physical properties and chemical) for the Building, Construction, Civil Engineering, and Waste Industries.
2020
February 20 – acquisition of Approval Specialists Pty, including Austest Laboratories, a full-service accredited testing and certification company. Our first business based in Australia.
February 20 – acquired Code A Weld, an accredited weld surveillance, inspection, and certification company offering a wide range of services, including qualification testing and NDT.
April 2020 – Phenna Group celebrated its 1st year anniversary.
February 20 - Phenna supports BET in completing the bolt-on acquisition of Build Check, a specialist provider of on-site and laboratory-based building testing and certification services, extending footprint from Ireland to UK.
November 20 - Phenna partners with Inflexion, a minority PE investor, to help boost the next stage of our strategy and ambitious growth plans.
November 20 – acquired Elmhurst Energy, the UK's leading independent energy assessment training, software and accreditation provider, managing a large proportion of the UK’s Energy Performance Certificate ('EPC') lodgements.
December 20 – acquisition of GSTL, a geotechnical site and lab testing business based out of Llanelli, South Wales, which provides a range of services to clients throughout the UK and Ireland.
December 20 – investment in Irish-based Health and Safety business, ASM Group. They offer a full range of H&S services, offering bespoke solutions for companies to ensure legal compliance and peace of mind.
December 20 - acquired Corporate Access Legal Services. Corporate Access is the leading fixed-fee law-searching specialist in Ireland, delivering similar services to First Scottish, but in Ireland.
2021
February 21 - Inflexion and Arcmont Invest £125M, which help to accelerate Phenna Group's merger and acquisition ambitions.
February 21 – Facit Testing acquired, a specialist electrical services company offering an extensive range of electrical testing solutions to clients across the domestic, commercial, industrial and public sectors.
February 21 – acquisition of MATTest Southern, a testing business at the forefront of civil engineering and construction materials testing. This would later be merged with JFTS to form a new company called CMTL.
April 2021 – Phenna Group celebrated its 2nd year anniversary.
April 21 – our first venture into the Middle East Region, with the acquisition of Thomas Bell Wright. TBW's head office is in Dubai, and it is a multi-accredited independent testing, inspection, and certification provider to the international building construction sector, with core competence in fire resistance and reaction testing.
June 21 – acquisition of Ecology Solutions, an ecology and environmental planning practice providing specialist and tailored solutions to clients operating nationwide.
June 21 - Safety Services UK was acquired. This leading health and safety consultancy provides access to the tools, training, and advice businesses need to effectively manage their health and safety requirements.
August 21 – leadership team strengthened via the appointments of Eric D'Orio - Divisional MD, NDT & Industrials; Brian Shannon - Divisional MD, Built Environment; and Stuart Abbs – Divisional MD, Infrastructure.
September 21 – acquisition of IASME, a company committed to helping businesses improve their cyber security, risk management, and governance through a range of certifications including Cyber Essentials.
October 21 – acquisition of Industrial Safety Inspections, a leading independent engineering inspection organisation focused on PUWER and LOLER Regulations.
November 21 - James Fisher Testing Services was acquired, which later merged with MatTest Southern to become CMTL.
November 2021 – Phenna Group passes the 1000 employee mark.
2022
January 2022 – officially launched charity matched giving programme, making a commitment to match fundraising activities of our staff up to £100,000 per annum.
January 22 – acquisition of JHAI, an approved inspector, licensed to carry out building regulation approvals (building control) as an alternative to local authorities.
February 22 – acquisition of A-Star Testing & Inspection, a UTM, NDT, commissioning, and third-party inspection company with offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and India. Our first entry to the Asian market.
February 22 – acquisition of Stroma Group. Stroma offers a range of services across all stages of a building lifecycle, from concept & planning to construction and occupancy, and consisted of 3 operating divisions, covering built environment, certification and approved inspections. The deal drove significant synergies and later allowed the integration with BET, Elmhurst Energy and JHAI, respectively.
March 22 – a further £100M debt placement was secured from our strategic partner, Arcmont Asset Management, to fuel further acquisition opportunities.
April 2022 – Phenna Group celebrated its 3rd year anniversary.
April 22 – Pavement Testing Services acquired. PTS provides highway infrastructure surveys, investigations and assessments, with associated laboratory materials testing, and would later be merged with XAIS.
April 22 – acquisition of NAPIT Group, a leading government-approved and UKAS-accredited membership scheme operator in the building services and fabric sector, focused on electrical engineering.
April 22 – acquisition of Celtest, an independent accredited quality materials testing business, extending our geographic reach into North Wales.
August 22 - Phenna Group acquired Complete Laboratory Solutions, a business providing microbiological and chemical testing services. This was our first partnership in the food and health sciences market.
August 22 - Xais Asset Management was acquired. XAIS offers a range of services and software to organisations looking to get the most value from their highway asset management data and plans. This business was later merged with PTS.
August 22 – acquisition of XtraTec, a materials testing business based in Kent offering laboratory and site testing services to the construction industry.
August 22 – Phenna Group sign a deal with Oakley Capital to secure future investment, in a majority deal, that will replace Inflexion and allows Phenna to grow rapidly into new verticals and geographies.
August 22 – private equity investor Oakley Capital acquired CTS Group which later became part of the Phenna Group.
September 22 – acquisition of Simtec, an independent material testing company serving the civil engineering, construction, and quarrying industries.
October 22 - North Australian Laboratories was acquired. This laboratory focuses on gold and multi-element analysis, including base and battery metals and was our first deal in the metals & minerals testing sector.
October 22 – in parallel, Aurum Laboratories was acquired. This Perth-based laboratory serves explorers and producers in the geochemical and mining industry, specialising in gold and base metal analysis.
October 22 – acquisition of Jinning Pty Limited, a business providing laboratory and analytical services for the geochemistry and hard rock mining industries and our third deal in rapid succession in metals and minerals creating widespread geographic coverage.
December 22 – acquisition of Zeta Analytical, a company providing pharmaceutical industry and veterinary finished product stability and raw material testing.
December 22 - Maurice Johnson & Partners was acquired. Their range of compliance services includes fire engineering, fire safety management and training, due diligence, and expert witness, highly complementary to our rapidly expanding Built Environment Division.
2023
January 23 – acquisition of RammSanderson, a company providing Ecological, Arboriculture, and Flood Risk Consultancy alongside specialist habitat management and creation services.
February 23 – PKI Solutions, the world's foremost cybersecurity specialist providing public critical infrastructure (PKI) products, services, and training, was acquired by Phenna Group.
March 23 – acquired DM Safety & Health, a leading independent health, safety and environmental compliance organisation and highly complementary to ASM and SSUK.
March 23 – acquisition of Sayvol, a market-leading provider of water compliance services, including water hygiene, treatment, inspection and legionella risk-based consultancy services, our first step into the water market.
April 2023 – Phenna Group celebrated its 4th anniversary.
April 23 - Phenna supports ACS in the acquisition of Associated Laboratory Services, a specialist in Energy from Waste, Waste Fuels, and Waste Recycling testing.
April 23 - Cansford Laboratories acquired, a leader in high-quality drug, alcohol, and steroid testing services based in Cardiff.
May 23 – Phenna supports PTS with the acquisition of Ginger Lehmann's UK highway surveying business, further integrating into PTS.
June 23 - acquired Evolution Water Services, which offers specialist services, including water treatment, water hygiene, consultancy, training, and indoor air quality services.
July 23 – acquisition of Trident Water Solutions, a water treatment and hygiene specialist focusing on legionella control, highly complementary to Sayvol and Evolution.
July 23 - South West Geotechnical, a specialist ground investigation company providing consultancy and testing services with a focus on the renewable energy sector, was acquired.
September 23 – acquisition of LabWest, an independent minerals analysis facility established in 2008, to meet a need in the Western Australian Market and completing our coverage of the Australian landscape.
October 23 - Phenna commits £ 3 million investment in a new state-of-the-art construction materials, environmental chemistry, and microbiology testing laboratory in Leicester, to be opened in summer 2024.
November 23 – ACI Reports, a market-leading provider of TM44 air conditioning inspection reports and provider of EPC and DEC certificates, acquired.
November 23 – ACST (Australian Soil and Concrete Testing) acquired, a market leading geotechnical testing company offering soil and concrete testing and other related services. Our first Infrastructure deal, in our rapidly expanding Australian presence.
November 23 — Brett Coleman is promoted to Divisional Managing Director, Australian Region, to further strengthen the Leadership Team.
November 23 – Robert Rostas joins the Phenna Leadership Team as new Group CFO.
December 23 – acquisition of CEIMIC Life Sciences Testing Group, offering quality life sciences analytical services, sampling, technology and logistics spanning 7 Latin American countries. Our first venture into the LATAM marketplace.
December 23 – acquisition of Eville & Jones, a market leading compliance and public health solutions provider to the UK food industry.
December 23 – acquisition of EMC Technologies, a specialist in approval and certification testing to Electromagnetic (EMC, EMI, EMR/EMF/SAR), Electrical Safety, Telecommunications and compliance consultancy. Highly synergistic with Austest Laboratories.
2024
February 24 – acquisition of MBC Group, a leading provider of building surveyor consultancy with capability in the retail, industrial, government, education, health and aged care sectors and our first step into the built environment sector in Australia.
February 24 – acquisition of Certis, a leader in building certification with extensive experience across a range of projects, including several of Australia's iconic building projects. Highly synergistic with MBC Group.
April 2024 – Phenna Group celebrated its 5th anniversary.
April 24 – Phil Marshall joins Phenna Group as our new Chief Executive Officer, allowing our Founder, Paul Barry to transition to the role of Executive Chairman.
May 24 – NLG Ecology was acquired, and their experts were incorporated into RammSanderson, extending their geographic reach. NLG offer a range of quality ecological services that can be incorporated into client plans.
May 24 – acquisition of Resolve Group based in Western Australia, a leading building surveyor consultancy with capability in the construction, property and mining sectors. This is highly complementary with MBC Group and Certis and extends our geographic reach.
May 24 – acquisition of Cutech, which has headquarters in Singapore. Cutech offers a wide range of services to industrial, commercial, and government clients across the petroleum, process, oil and gas, marine, cement, and power sectors and is highly synergistic with A-Star, extending our capacity and range of services in the Asia market. It also, extends into Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
June 24 – acquisition of Grupo FS to become part of the Ceimic Group platform in Latin America, delivering technical consulting, inspection and testing services in the food, health, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.
July 24 - Phenna Group strengthens its leadership team with key appointments to drive future growth, capture synergies, and enhance service delivery worldwide.
July 24 – Phenna Group signs the Armed Forces Covenant, with key executives and representatives from the Armed Forces in attendance.
July 24 – Phenna Group officially opened a new £multi-M chemistry and microbiology laboratory in Leicester.
August 24 - David Buckley joined as Managing Director, Geotechnical & Environmental Consultancy within the Infrastructure Division.
August 24 - acquisition of ECAS, a leader in environmental compliance.
September 24 - appointment of Jon Harrison as Group Head of Corporate Development to further strengthen the Leadership Team.
September 24 - acquisition of Oracle Surveys, a land surveying consultancy in Western Australia that has worked on many of Perth's most iconic buildings.
November 24 - Phenna Group supports TBW with a multimillion-pound investment in a state-of-the-art laboratory in Saudi Arabia's Al Sudair Industrial Area.
December 24 - Phenna Group's investment in Build Check facilitated the modernisation of its facilities, focusing on façade and water testing, including CWCT (Centre for Window and Cladding Technology) testing.