Salisbury Group acquired by Atlas to form national facilities management powerhouse

By Sam Pither

13 July 2022

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Atlas Facilities Management, who have an office in Bournemouth, have acquired the Salisbury Group in a deal advised on by MHA Macintyre Hudson.

The merger of the two facilities management firms will mean a combined £160 million revenue.

Chris Wisely, Group MD of Atlas commented: “We are delighted to have acquired Salisbury Group. This deal is a sign of our ambitious growth plans for the future, and we are pleased that the Salisbury management team and staff will become part of the Atlas family.

“By bringing in Salisbury’s excellent facilities services and engineering maintenance capabilities, Atlas now offers the full suite of FM services to our clients.”

Salisbury was founded in 2013 as the dedicated facilities services arm of a commercial property company. It has since built a nationwide customer base, earned historical revenues exceeding £50 million and achieved two record years in which it secured more than £30 million of new contracts.

Established 35 years ago, Atlas has evolved from a local cleaning specialist to become a nationwide facilities and support services operator. The acquisition of Salisbury means Atlas becomes a £160 million company, employing 8,500 people at 6,000 sites across the nation.

The merger of Salisbury’s facilities management with Atlas’ cleaning services has led to the newly formed company being described as a ‘total’ facilities management company.

James Lawson, corporate finance partner at MHA, said: “We have very much enjoyed advising the shareholders and Salisbury team on this transaction.

"The degree of cultural fit between Salisbury and Atlas and a like-minded philosophy on customer engagement have been obvious since early discussions; this facilitated a pragmatic and co-operative approach to negotiations and a shared focus on the future opportunity. It’s gratifying to have played our part in guiding both businesses to the point where they can now start to deliver as a combined group.”

The Salisbury brand and management team will remain in place following the transaction. The combined Atlas and Salisbury team expects to benefit from augmented capabilities at national scale, which will help them to enhance their offering.

Andrew Lunt, Group MD of Salisbury said: “This is a fantastic step for Salisbury and our talented people to become part of an established and fast-growing FM group. Atlas is a business that is owner-operated and focused on providing the best possible service for customers.

“This culture is completely aligned to our own and alongside the immediate commercial opportunities the deal brings, we can look forward to an exciting future together.”

By Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset.

A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise.

Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.