Cardo appears to be bucking the trend for private equity backed start-ups – it is actually making money even in its early years.
Cardo Group was formed in 2023 when social housing maintenance contractor LCB Group was sold by its founder, Liam Bevan, to private equity group Buckthorn Partners with the plans of acquiring and bolting on regional contractors to build a national player.
With Bevan remaining chief executive, annual turnover has grown from £35.6m at the outset to £83.6m after a year and to £145.2m in the year to 28th February 2025.
Growth has been achieved largely through acquisition and despite the cost of this, they all appear to have been affordable as the latest accounts show pre-tax profit growing from £1.2m to £5.0m for the year to February 2025 and adjusted Ebitda more than doubling to £10m.
Early days of many companies using this model are characterised by heavy losses, chasing turnover to feed the mounting debt pile – often resembling a Ponzi scheme. Not Cardo. Not yet at least.
During its most recent financial year, Cardo acquired A&N Lewis and Tim O’Brien in Wales, and Heatcare Oil & Gas and Rogers & Johnston in Scotland. On a full-year equivalent basis reflecting these acquisitions, group turnover would have been £162m with adjusted EBITDA of £13.8m.
Since March this year it has added Breyer Group’s roofing division, assets of SERS Energy Solutions Group, and CTS Projects.
Liam Bevan said: “We continue to expand our footprint and capabilities across the UK and Ireland, reinforcing our position as a trusted partner. We have invested significantly in systems and integration to support scalable, sustainable growth. Despite these investments, our financial performance remains strong and aligned with our long-term strategy.”
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