Fire safety
Selling your fire safety business
Richmonds buys well-run UK fire safety businesses from owners who want to retire or step back. We keep your engineers, your maintenance contracts and your trading name, and agree a clear exit with you in plain terms.
The kind of business we buy
We look for firms whose income comes mainly from planned servicing and maintenance contracts with commercial customers. Typically that means:
- Fire detection and fire alarm servicing to BS 5839-1
- Emergency lighting servicing to BS 5266-1
- Portable extinguisher servicing to BS 5306-3, and suppression systems
- Fire risk assessments under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
- Fire door inspection
- Third-party certification, such as BAFE SP203-1, SP203-4, SP101 or SP205, FIRAS or NSI
If you also carry out water hygiene or water treatment work, that is welcome too. These are all areas we invest in.
What happens to the things you have built
Your third-party certification
BAFE registration depends on certification from a UKAS-accredited certification body, such as NSI, SSAIB, NICEIC or BSI. Certification is held by your business, and certification bodies expect to be told about changes such as a new owner or legal structure. When we buy the shares of your company, the certified company stays the same. We work with your certification body so certification continues. Our guide on what happens to LCA registration and BAFE certification when a company is sold explains the detail.
Your engineers and office team
Competent, experienced engineers are what your certification and your customers rely on. We plan for your team to stay on their existing terms, with a clearer route to progress.
Your maintenance contracts
The same faces stay on the same contracts. We protect the relationships you have built and invest in the systems behind them, from scheduling to reporting.
Your name
Your business can keep trading under its own name as part of Richmonds, so customers and staff see continuity, not a takeover.
Guides for owners
Questions owners ask
Will our BAFE registration continue after the sale?
In a share sale the certified company stays the same, so certification normally continues. Certification bodies expect to be told about a change in ownership and may review it, so we plan this with you and your certification body before completion.
Do I need to tell my customers before I sell?
No. Conversations with us stay confidential, and customers only hear about a sale when you decide. Your solicitor will check whether any contracts need consent on a change of ownership.
What size of fire safety business do you buy?
Usually turnover from £500k with no upper limit, consistently profitable, with most income from planned maintenance contracts. If you are close, we would still like to hear from you.
This page is general information about how Richmonds works. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and nothing on it is an offer to buy any business. All discussions are subject to contract. Take advice from your own accountant and solicitor, and see our website terms.
Start a confidential conversation
Sanjeev reads every enquiry personally. There is no cost and no obligation to talk, and we sign a confidentiality agreement before you share any figures.