Houlihan Lokey Advises Phenna Group

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Phenna Group, a fast-growing global testing, inspection, certification, and compliance (TICC) platform, has successfully agreed on secondary investment from Oakley Capital in a transaction that values Phenna Group at more than £1 billion, realising an exit for minority investor Inflexion. The transaction closed on 21 December 2022.

Formed in 2018, Phenna Group has rapidly emerged as one of the fastest growing TICC groups globally, with revenue growth of circa 100% CAGR over the past three years. Today the group comprises 32 independent businesses that provide specialist TICC services across infrastructure, built environment, niche industrial, health sciences, and certification and compliance divisions. The business operates across 12 countries on four continents.

Phenna Group has emerged as the strategic acquirer of choice for best-of-breed specialist TICC companies due to its unique partnership approach, which allows leading TICC entrepreneurs to continue to operate their businesses while also having all the benefits of being part of a larger global business.

Inflexion is a leading middle-market private equity firm that works in partnership with ambitious management teams of high-growth, entrepreneurial businesses to accelerate sustainable growth. Inflexion completed a minority investment in Phenna Group in February 2021, and the 18-month partnership more than doubled EBITDA and tripled headcount as an international TICC platform of scale was created.

Founded in 2002, Oakley Capital has demonstrated its repeated ability to source attractive growth assets by relying on its sector and regional expertise, by tackling transaction complexity, and through its deal-generating entrepreneur network. Oakley’s investment will allow Phenna Group to continue to grow rapidly into new verticals and geographies.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Inflexion and the Phenna Group shareholders in a deal that exemplifies the firm’s continued success in the dedicated global coverage of the TICC sector.