Renovo sold to Liberata

The UK’s fastest-growing outplacement specialist Renovo has been acquired by business process services company Liberata, in a deal advised by BCMS.

Established in 2009 by David Twiddle, Renovo is the UK’s leading specialist provider of career transition support. With offices in York and London, the company delivers a suite of services ranging from personalised career coaching to group workshops and career clinics, building outplacement support that works hard for employers and employees.

“No-one but BCMS would have thought of putting us together with the company that bought us” – David Twiddle, Renovo

Renovo’s prestigious client list features major names across multiple sectors, including Ikea, BT, Clifford Chance, Mitie, Post Office and the NHS. The company has an impressive track record of delivery, with 82% of participants supported back into work within 90 days.

First founded in 1975, Liberata is a business process services company that provides specialist outsourcing, on-demand business services and a full range of IT services. With over 1,200 employees operating across 11 locations across the UK, Liberata serves customers in the public and private sectors, helping deliver, run and automate complex services for individuals, businesses and other organisations. Liberata currently works with 600 clients across these sectors and is also the leading provider of Revenues and Benefits for Local Government.

Deal commentary

Commenting on the deal, which completed during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, BCMS Assistant Director Ashwani Batra said: “We are absolutely delighted to have played a role in this landmark transaction, which demonstrates that even in these challenging times, deals are still completing. Renovo is a fast-growing company with a suite of specialist services well suited to the changing workplace environment. With a unique and scalable distant delivery method, the business has been experiencing a strong turnover growth and high profitability – making it an attractive proposition to acquiring organisations.

“There is clear synergy between our clients and Liberata, which offers complementary, but not directly competing services. A key feature of this transaction was the importance of Renovo’s strong senior leadership team, which is staying with the business, and whose presence helped ‘de-risk’ the transaction for Liberata. We wish all parties the very best for the future.”

Founder of Renovo, David Twiddle, commented: “The BCMS team played a significant role in helping us find the right buyer and the right deal. No-one but BCMS would have thought of putting us together with the company that bought us. I have no hesitation in recommending BCMS. Without their wise, timely and focused efforts, I doubt we could have successfully completed the deal in such difficult times.”