Stronger Together – Envirocare Joins Ecus and EMS in the Mission to Take Care of the Earth

We are delighted to announce that Envirocare is now part of Cura Terrae; a newly created environmental service group, which will also include Ecus and Environmental Monitoring Solutions (EMS).

Headquartered in Sheffield, Cura Terrae, which means ‘take care of the earth’ in Latin, is a purpose-driven business led by experienced entrepreneur, and current MD of EMS, Professor Pete Skipworth, who will look for suitable complementary acquisitions as part of a strategic growth plan.

Envirocare will be moving out of the EMS group and will instead sit alongside EMS and Ecus under the new group of Cura Terrae. 

Ecus provides holistic environmental consultancy services to support the development of UK infrastructure.  Services include air quality, arboriculture, carbon services, ecology, environmental services, habitats, heritage & archaeology, landscape architecture, and water services. Ecus bring 154 members of staff to the wider group, including their recent acquisition, Northern Archaeological Associates.

EMS specialises in water and air quality testing for the utility sector to ensure its industrial clients standards are aligned with government regulations. Established in 2002, it has grown its staff count from seven to 90.

Envirocare will maintain its area of expertise but will benefit from the consolidation of shared central services such as marketing, HR and finance, who will relocate to the Brook Holt offices in Sheffield.

John Healey, MD of Envirocare is looking forward to the formation of the group, he says:

“The formation of Cura Terrae presents a wonderful opportunity for Envirocare to work alongside ECUS and EMS, creating a strong group of passionate, knowledgeable individuals. Being part of Cura Terrae will allow us to deliver a wider range of environmental services at a time when this has never been more important. 

I would like to say a huge thank you to the entire Envirocare team for rising so selflessly to every challenge they have faced; this is not something I take for granted. With the momentum we have generated and the financial backing from Palatine we are well placed to increase our market share in 2022.”

Pete Skipworth will become Cura Terrae’s Group CEO and Sara Blannin will be Group CFO. Piers Clark, the respected water sector professional, will become non-executive Chair of Cura Terrae and will also remain as executive chair of Isle Utilities, the specialist water consultancy. Palatine Impact Partner James Gregson, who led the investment with investment manager Greg Holmes, will also be joining the board.

In a fragmented marketplace for environmental services, CEO Prof Peter Skipworth sees a significant opportunity to build a leading nationwide consultancy.

 He said: “Our mission at Cura Terrae is to take care of the earth. We believe that businesses have an obligation to solve the climate crisis and Cura Terrae will help them meet and maintain environmental standards across land, air and water.”

Investors 

This significant development is a result of investment by Palatine Private Equity, whose long-term commitment to place purpose and responsibility at the heart of their investment strategy aligns perfectly with Cura Terrae’s shared mission to protect the environment.

ECUS, EMS and Envirocare and their shareholders were advised by Claire Davis and team at Lava Advisory Partners (Corporate Finance), Andy Francey and Megan Atack at Freeths (Legal) and Craig Hughes at Brown Butler (Tax).

Read More about the Formation of Cura Terrae.