Invent Advies B.V. becomes part of CAG

The permanent nature of sustainability in our society has a positive effect on companies active in this sector. This was evident when Joop Eising wanted to sell his company Invent. There was a great deal of interest and finally, the entities of the company based in Beilen, became part of CAG.

The sale of Invent, composed of Invent Advies B.V. and Kwaliteitborg B.V., means Joop Eising can continue to expand his company and seize new opportunities. “He mainly had his employees’ best interests at heart; they will get more room to develop themselves”, says Lars de Ruiter, who supported the entrepreneur on behalf of Marktlink, together with Jeffrey Scholten, Anthony Gelici and Fleur Stout. “The entire process went exceptionally smoothly, in part thanks to the close relationship Joop had with his accountant and his useful help.”

Shares sold

Joop Eising established Invent in 1999; a consultancy and inspection company, focussed on inspection and consultancy on energy optimisation for homes, offices and other real estate. The customer portfolio consists of social housing associations, construction companies, architects and other property owners and managers. “Jeffrey had previously had contact with Joop, but the time was not yet right for selling. Now the time was right; more and more parties found Joop to see if he wanted to sell. Joop eventually sold all his shares and will step down permanently in six months’ time.”

For CAG, a nationwide company in TIC (testing, inspecting, certification) and engineering, the partnership means that it can find a stronger foothold in the northeast of the Netherlands. With Gate Invest, it has a financial partner to help achieve its growth ambitions. “Invent is a chain in CAG’s buy-and-build strategy”, Lars explains. “This acquisition allows both companies to take a broader approach to the rapidly growing demand for guidance on sustainability issues.”

Sustainability is hot and happening

Notable was the short duration of the whole acquisition process. “In four months’ time, we finalised the deal; something that usually takes us at least six to nine months”, Lars says, looking back. “Not only was the interest in Invent great, but the variety of interested buyers was also very diverse. So it was nice that we could go from longlist to shortlist so smoothly to finalise a deal that had only winners. This also speaks to the movement in the market: sustainability is hot and happening.”

That movement will remain for some time, Lars expects. “During this process, we have already been putting out feelers. The sustainability sector is strongly fractured with quite a lot of companies in the middle. This provides a lot of traction and several growth strategies. We see an increase in companies joining forces and becoming a group. Now that the novelty of sustainability has worn off and the market stabilises, there is more room to look to the future and achieve growth ambitions.”