FRP Corporate Finance has advised a specialist planning and environmental consultancy on securing private equity investment to support its expansion across the UK.
Lanpro Services, founded in 2008, provides planning, environmental and design consultancy services from offices in Norwich, Cambridge, York and London. The business employs 85 staff and has been involved in major projects, including the Energy Innovation Park in Norwich, the regeneration of Kingston-Upon-Thames town centre, and various residential schemes.
As part of its growth strategy, Lanpro has acquired planning specialist CarneySweeney, whose 35-strong team will extend Lanpro’s reach into Wales, the South West and West Midlands. While retaining its independent brand, CarneySweeney will benefit from Lanpro’s additional resources and investment.
The transaction was backed by Horizon Capital, a private equity firm that has acquired a majority stake in Lanpro for an undisclosed value. The deal represents a step in Lanpro’s plan to become one of the UK’s largest independent multi-disciplinary environmental planning consultancies over the next five years through both organic growth and further acquisitions.
FRP Corporate Finance’s Norwich team, led by partners Dave Howes and Ryan Symonds, along with director Matt Field and assistant manager Cameron Robertson, acted as advisers throughout the process. They helped structure the transaction, managed negotiations, and coordinated due diligence.
Dave Howes 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.”
Chris Leeming, chair 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.”
