Water treatment
Selling your water treatment business
Richmonds buys well-run UK water treatment businesses from owners who want to retire or step back. We keep your engineers, your service 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 recurring treatment, monitoring and testing for commercial buildings. Typically that means:
- Closed system treatment and monitoring, with sampling to BS 8552 and guidance such as BSRIA BG 50
- Cooling tower and evaporative system treatment, to HSG274 Part 1
- Pre-commission cleaning and chlorination of new and refurbished systems
- Chemical dosing, laboratory analysis and reporting
- Registration with the Legionella Control Association where you provide Legionella control services
If you also carry out water hygiene or fire safety work, that is welcome too. These are all areas we invest in.
What happens to the things you have built
Your engineers and technical knowledge
Water treatment depends on people who understand the systems they look after. We plan for your team to stay on their existing terms, with a clearer route to progress.
Your service contracts and site history
Customers value a supplier who knows the history of their systems. The same faces stay on the same contracts, and the records behind them stay with the business.
Your registrations and supplier relationships
When we buy the shares of your company, the company that holds your LCA registration, laboratory arrangements and supply agreements stays the same. We check with each body or supplier whether it needs to be told about the change in ownership.
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
We do both water treatment and water hygiene. Is that a problem?
No. Many firms do both, and both are areas we invest in, along with fire safety.
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 or supply agreements need consent on a change of ownership.
What size of water treatment business do you buy?
Usually turnover from £500k with no upper limit, consistently profitable, with most income from recurring service 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.