Business services

The business services sector covers a wide variety of enterprises, from washroom services to environmental consulting, from security to logistics and from pest control to print management. All offer essential day-to-day services. They are often labour-intensive and usually focus on increasing their customers’ operational efficiency.

The market is growing, driven by the tendency for both private and public sector organisations to outsource non-core activities in response to economic growth, increased regulation and a desire to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Although parts of the market remain highly fragmented, its customers’ preference for fewer suppliers providing multiple services has led to growing consolidation.

The consistent flow of mergers and acquisitions in the business services market during the last five years has been driven by both private equity funds and corporate ‘carve-outs’.