Business Services Deal Activity, H2 2024
Introducing Rockworth’s new report, focused on the TICC sector.
If you own or run a company in the TICC (Testing, Inspection, Certfication and Compliance) sector, you are highly likely to have received approaches from companies interested in buying your business over the past year or so. TICC businesses across various disciplines and specialisms are proving to be of great interest to numerous different serial acquirors.
TICC businesses are attractive acquisition targets because they operate in a highly regulated, fragmented market with recurring, compliance-driven revenue and strong barriers to entry. There are many acquirers, including both strategic consolidators and private equity firms, chasing these assets to build scale, broaden technical capabilities, and capture long-term structural growth from regulation, infrastructure, and ESG-related demand.
Why TICC companies are attractive targets
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Regulation-driven, resilient demand: TICC services are often mandatory (e.g., safety, environmental, product, and cybersecurity compliance), so demand is relatively insensitive to economic cycles and tied to long-term regulatory trends.
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Recurring and ‘sticky’ revenues: Many clients need ongoing inspections, audits, and certifications, creating repeat business, long-term relationships, and visible revenue streams.
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Fragmented market with consolidation opportunities: The sector includes many small, specialized firms, giving acquirers ample opportunity to aggregate platforms, cross-sell services, and realize cost and revenue synergies.
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Specialist expertise and high switching costs: Technical credibility, accredited labs, and domain know-how create defensible niches; once a client relies on a provider’s certification, switching is costly and risky.
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Exposure to growth themes: Energy transition, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, digital/cyber compliance, and infrastructure projects all increase the need for testing and certification, making TICC firms aligned with durable growth themes.
At Rockworth, we actively track a cohort of approximately 100 businesses driving consolidation in these markets, including leading names such as Celnor, Phenna, SGS, Bureau Veritas, Adler & Allan, Aecom, RSK, NMi, and many others.
Our latest report, available here, provides an overview of recent acquisition activity, discusses the growth strategies of the acquirers, and highlights technology and SaaS-solutions increasingly rising in importance in the sector.
