European Roll-Up Market Report

Overview of the May 2026 European Roll-Up Market

May saw 16 PE-backed acquisitions across Europe, an increase of 45% compared to the same month last year.

Number of announced PE-backed acquisitions over the past 12 months*

Number of PE-backed Acquisitions

Roll-Up Market Insights

With 16 acquisitions, the number of PE-backed acquisitions decreased by 24% compared to the previous month.

With 8 acquisitions, the UK presents the country with most PE-backed acquisitions.

In May, AMS Accountants Group was tied with Xeinadin Group for the most active acquirer with 2 acquisitions each.

Marketing (4), Software (4), Consulting (3) and FinTech (3) are the most mentioned acquired industries.

This month’s case study: RSK Group – The one-stop environmental & engineering platform

Founded in 1989 in Cheshire, UK, RSK is a buy-and-build platform delivering environmental consulting and engineering services across the water, energy, construction and infrastructure sectors

Backed by Ares, Searchlight and BGF RSK has pursued an active buy-and-build strategy, announcing 24 acquisitions since 2020.

RSK's Acquisitions

Its latest move came in May 2026, with the acquisition of HV Energy Systems (founded in Bristol, UK). HV Energy System is an independent connection provider that builds the high-voltage links connecting solar, wind and battery projects to the power grid.

Integration-light acquisitions (acquired companies largely maintaining autonomy over their operations) let RSK scale rapidly: The group now comprises over 200 individual firms, employs 17,000+ people across 40+ countries, and has grown revenue to $2.96bn (€2.51bn), targeting $6.74bn (€5.7bn) by 2030.

Buy and build: RSK’s strategy to build the one-stop sustainability platform

RSK is building the leading end-to-end platform for environmental consulting and engineering. The portfolio of firms consist of the experts who help build, power and clean up civil infrastructure. By bringing complementary specialist disciplines under one federation, spanning water, energy, infrastructure and the natural and built environment, RSK delivers integrated solutions while letting acquired businesses keep their brands and management.

Case study:

In 1989, RSK was founded by Alan Ryder in Cheshire, providing environmental consulting and engineering services across water, energy, construction and infrastructure — building the foundation for a one-stop sustainability platform under a single federation.
Since 2016, RSK has pursued acquisition-led growth, becoming an active buyer in the UK Environmental & Sustainability consultancy market and reaching 200+ firms, 17,000+ employees, and presence in 40+ countries.
Between 2020-2026, RSK broadened the platform across specialist disciplines and geographies — securing ~$1.35bn (€1.15bn) in sustainability-linked financing from Ares (2021), strategic equity from a Searchlight-led consortium (2024), and most recently acquiring HV Energy Systems to strengthen energy-transition services.
These moves enable RSK to scale an integration-light platform by letting acquired businesses keep their brands and management — delivering integrated solutions across the natural and built environment while targeting ~$6.75bn (€5.8bn) revenue by 2030.

PE investors view end-to-end sustainability platforms like RSK as attractive due to:

Growth opportunities in environmental consulting and engineering driven by structural tailwinds in decarbonization, water management, and infrastructure renewal. Expanding from core consulting into adjacent specialist disciplines across the natural and built environment.
Scale and diversification potential via integration-light buy-and-build, acquiring complementary specialist firms across disciplines (water, energy, infrastructure) and geographies while letting them retain brand and management autonomy, widening the service portfolio and client base with low integration friction.
Federation and capability moats from a curated network where complementary disciplines, cross-referral synergies, and the ability to deliver integrated multi-disciplinary solutions create client stickiness and raise barriers against single-discipline competitors.
Resilient recurring revenues from long-term sustainability mandates across regulated sectors, public and private infrastructure spending, and tightening environmental requirements, which structurally increase demand for a centralized, multi-disciplinary sustainability partner.

*All data from CrunchBase, as of June 2, 2026.

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