FRP Corporate Finance secures PE investment for planning consultancy

FRP Corporate Finance has helped support a deal securing “significant” private equity investment for a specialist planning and environmental consultancy firm, which will be used to back its expansion. 

Lanpro Services (Lanpro) provides planning, environmental and design consultancy services to clients across the UK, with offices in Norwich, Cambridge, York and London. 

The business employs 85 people and supports major strategic land, infrastructure and renewable energy projects such as the Energy Innovation Park in Norwich and the regeneration of Kingston-Upon-Thames’ town centre, as well as numerous residential schemes across the country.

It has now expanded its footprint through the acquisition of planning specialists CarneySweeney, whose 35-strong team of planning experts will expand Lanpro’s reach to new locations including Wales, the South West and West Midlands.

Carney Sweeney will retain its independent brand but will now “benefit from Lanpro’s additional resources and investment”.

The transaction was funded by Lanpro’s new private equity backers, Horizon Capital, which has acquired a majority stake in the business for an undisclosed value. 

It comes as Lanpro is looking to become one of the largest independent multi-disciplinary environmental planning consultants in the UK within the next five years, through organic growth and further complementary acquisitions.

FRP Corporate Finance’s Norwich team, led by partners Dave Howes, Ryan Symonds, director Matt Field and supported by assistant manager Cameron Robertson acted as advisers to Lanpro on the deal. 

The firm worked closely with Lanpro’s leadership team to structure the transaction, before managing the negotiations and then coordinating the due diligence.

Dave Howes, partner at FRP Corporate Finance, said: “The appetite amongst private equity for high-quality and ready to scale professional services businesses remains strong. Lanpro is a great example of this – it’s a firm with a talented and ambitious management team that has demonstrated an intention to scale nationally.

“This investment provides the group with the platform, capital and strategic backing needed to accelerate its buy-and-build strategy, starting with the acquisition of CarneySweeney. This marks an exciting time for both teams, and we look forward to seeing the business’s continued development in the coming years.”

Chris Leeming, chairman of Lanpro, added: “CarneySweeney joining the fold is an exciting first step in a much wider growth journey for Lanpro. This investment gives us the scale, resources and momentum to accelerate our plans and continue building a broader, multi-disciplinary environmental planning consultancy.

“I’m incredibly grateful to Dave and the team at FRP Corporate Finance for helping us to get this deal over the line. Having worked with them before we knew how invaluable their support can be, and it’s now put us in a strong position to pursue our ambitious plans for growing the business.”