Black & White is excited to announce its strategic partnership with Waterland Private Equity, a world-leading independent investment group. Waterland is an independent private equity investment company that supports entrepreneurs and family businesses with their growth ambitions and is a key ally for successful companies in dynamic markets, assisting with growth through acquisitions, financing, and organisational support. Waterland operates in 11 countries across Europe, including the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, France, Spain and Poland.
The Black & White business today employs over 500 people and works with 110 clients across 23 countries. Waterland’s investment represents an exciting opportunity to further enhance our already impressive track record and accelerate on the timelines set for our strategic growth targets. With Waterland as a strategic partner, we aim to broaden support for customers across both new geographies and through widening our engineering offering with new specialisms. This will be delivered through a combination of organically broadening our footprint into new territories and pursuing strategic acquisitions across Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa.
Mick Cairns, our CEO and founder of Black & White, will remain integral to the business, continuing as CEO alongside the Black & White leadership team. A cornerstone of our success lies in the culture the leadership team have fostered within the business and the calibre of talent this has attracted. This culture of excellence will be preserved. The Black & White leadership team will all be remaining with the businesses following the partnership with Waterland, underpinning the importance of loyalty and continuity.
Commenting on the acquisition, Mick Cairns, Founder of Black & White said: “Black & White has grown hugely since the business was founded and I could not be prouder of our team, who have helped us to reach this huge milestone in our journey. We are delighted to be partnering with Waterland and leveraging their track record of international growth and acquisition experience. We are looking forward to supercharging the momentum we have built with Waterland acting as a hands-on partner, which supports our vision and ambitions.”
Wendy McMillan, Partner at Waterland Private Equity, commented: “Mick Cairns is an impressive entrepreneur who has built an outstanding business. We look forward to supporting Mick and the senior team in this next chapter and will continue to back their philosophy of investing in people and working together with the best talent to create a global leader in engineering for the data centre market. We will be leveraging our network and expertise in acquisitions and international expansion to help Black & White reach the next level and we are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the business.”