Kiwa UK acquires BASEC Group Ltd

Kiwa Holdings (UK) Limited, a Cheltenham headquartered testing, inspection and certification (TIC) company, has successfully completed the acquisition of BASEC Group Ltd, an independent accredited certification body for the electrical cable industry worldwide, with the support of law firm Shakespeare Martineau.

The acquisition will see Kiwa UK take on BASEC’s 63 employees based across Milton Keynes, its subsidiaries in Turkey, India and Ireland as well as BASEC’s state-of-the-art laboratory in Dubai; following a successful hive-down of the business of British Approvals Service For Cables to BASEC Group Ltd pre-completion.

A reflection of the company’s commitment to growth, the strategic acquisition reaffirms Kiwa’s position as a major player in the TIC and electrical cable industry worldwide whilst also expanding its global presence and range of services to clients.

Kiwa UK CEO Paul Brown explained that the Kiwa UK Group has grown at pace through both organic growth and acquisition, he said: “I am delighted to welcome the BASEC team to Kiwa. Their knowledge, expertise, and reputation for delivering trust in the quality of electrical cables around the world complement Kiwa’s purpose in the marketplace. I see great synergies between the two companies as well as Kiwa supporting BASEC to continue delivering high quality assurance to the cable industry.”

Matthew Shephard, associate at Shakespeare Martineau who was part of the team that led the deal said: “We wish to congratulate KIWA UK on the successful acquisition and look forward to seeing them go from strength to strength in the global certification market.”

Roy Botterill, partner at Shakespeare Martineau added: “We are delighted to have advised Kiwa UK on this strategic acquisition. The successful completion of which demonstrates our team’s expertise in advising on complex cross-border transactions. 

Shakespeare Martineau advisors on the deal included partners Duncan James, Roy Botterill and associate Matthew Shephard with support from Charlotte Cassells, Oscar Ciaurro, Rhys Wyborn, and Victoria Bovington.

William Thompson and Mark Allen from Crowe acted as corporate finance advisors.