Advising Building Products, Construction & Infrastructure Businesses
The built environment sector encompasses a number of quite different activities from the manufacture and distribution of building products, through contracting itself to the funding and execution of major infrastructure projects. Around that is the development of Real Estate both commercial and residential.
Specialists are needed, since manufacturing and distribution of building products cover quite a wide range of expertise, and the deciding factors use different levers. Therefore, consultative service offering expertise in the right product for the task and how it should be used is critical.
Whilst we have an Industry Group to advise companies across the whole sector, we split that team into the different disciplines and industry expert leads on each piece.
CDI Global advises on transactions on both the buyside and sellside as well as raising capital of infrastructure projects.
Building Products, Construction & Infrastructure Sector Overview
Sales in the building sector are often specification-led, requiring companies to convince architects and investors to include their products in the specifications. Contractors on the job site are then pushed to follow these specifications rather than substitute cheaper alternatives.
Projects are carried under local contracts and regulations, making risk allocation between investors, contractors and suppliers critical. These local practices and regulations, sometimes differ among countries and can significantly affect companies’ valuations and complicate cross-border transactions.
Working capital pressures are common since full payments often depend on milestones or retention clauses. Planning approval and operating permits can also affect earnings visibility and deal structures.
The building industry is traditionally slow to adopt innovation. Modular and off-site construction have seen limited success, software other than Building Information Modelling (BIM) which is now standard, as well as energy saving and low-CO2 processes represent a major growth and investment opportunity.
Our Experience in Building Products, Construction & Infrastructure
CDI Global has teams that have advised across the spectrum of the sector.
Our work often involves proprietary search, as attractive businesses in this sector are often not publicly marketed and require direct engagement with shareholders. These discussions are handled with discretion to protect live contracts and commercial relationships.Transactions can be legally complicated due to the ultimate client being governments and government controlled entities as well as private and corporate clients. Often product and services which meet accreditations in one geography will not be saleable or achieve the standards or accreditation in another and regulatory frameworks do not match. Such transactions are only worth initiating with industry knowledgeable senior partners being directly involved and overseeing the execution.
