Mace Group has announced the management buyout of its facilities management arm Mace Operate, which has now been rebranded as Macro.
The purchase was led by Mace Operate chief executive Ross Abbate and finance director Chris Bampton. Mark Holmes, who announced in September that he was stepping down as vice chairman of Mace, is the chairman of Macro.
Abbate said: “Over the past 20 years, Macro has established itself as a leading facilities management expert under the Mace Group umbrella, and now as an independent company we will be able to build on this success to invest in new and transformed services for our clients and create fantastic new opportunities for Macro colleagues around the world.”
There will be a nine-month transition period, after which the business will be fully independent.
Macro and Mace will also maintain a close long-term relationship, with Macro acting as the preferred supplier of the Mace Group’s facilities management services. The two companies have indicated that they will also explore joint service offerings for existing customers.
Mace Operate was launched 21 years ago. It currently provides operational facilities management, consulting and support services in 45 countries. The company employs around 700 people and posted a pre-tax loss of £170,000 in the year ending 31 December 2022.
Among the company’s facilities management responsibilities is the management of the IFS Cloud Cable Car on behalf of Transport for London.
Mace Group is no stranger to a management buyout: the company itself was bought by a team of 13 in 2001.
The firm has indicated its intention to focus more on its core consulting and construction offering, while Macro has said it wants to invest more in innovation and new service offerings to meet changing client needs.
Mace Group chairman and chief executive Mark Reynolds said: “As the group’s core services have grown over the past few years, it has become clear that Macro has more opportunity to grow as a stand-alone business.
“The team will now be able to invest in the innovation and infrastructure needed to develop and grow a world-leading facilities management service.”
