Excellerate, a South African security, cleaning and related contract company, reports the acquisition of a majority stake in the Templewood group of companies. The acquisition is Excellerate’s first in the UK. The firm says that it intends to develop a major presence through organic growth and by acquisition. Harvey Soning, founder of Templewood, retains a significant stake and will remain its chairman; and the firm will continue to operate under the Templewood brand.
Excellerate operates across 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East. It employs about 20,000 people and provides services such as security, cleaning, hygiene and pest control, and precinct management. Its client base includes multinational corporates, the public sector, developers, funds, institutions and private investors.
Templewood, which was founded in 2000 by its Harvey Soning, provides a range of services such as cleaning and security to blue chips. Templewood also provides Emergency Response Officer accredited training to manage incidents such as terrorist attacks, aimed at those working in the security industry and organisers of large public gatherings.
Under Excellerate’s majority ownership, the business in the UK will be guided by Harvey Soning and will continue to operate under the Templewood brand; the company will benefit from the introduction of Excellerate’s technology platform, and extensive IP around providing integrated services, which will deliver improvements such as more efficient client reporting.
Gordon Hulley, CEO of Excellerate, pictured right, said: “The UK is a highly attractive market for Excellerate. Despite Brexit, Excellerate is confident in investing in this industry in the UK – facilities will always need to be maintained, cleaned and protected. We share with Templewood a language and a passion for the highest level of service to our clients. However, we recognise the significant value of entering a market with a partner that is already well-known and highly regarded in that region. We look forward to working with Harvey and his team to build our business in the UK.”
And Harvey Soning, pictured left, added: “Excellerate is a major force in its sector across Africa. This partnership marks a combination of Templewood’s exceptional reputation for quality and its knowledge of the cleaning and security industry in the UK, with Excellerate’s scale, experience and world-class technology and highly efficient processes. We are very excited about the opportunities that this partnership will bring as part of a larger, ambitious group – to our team and our customers both now and in the future.”
Visit www.excellerate.co.za and www.templewoodgroup.com.
