Permira Funds to acquire strategic majority stake in Westbridge, a leading Energy and Sustainability Advisor in Real Estate, from GENUI

Permira, the global investment firm, and the investor GENUI today announced that funds advised by Permira have signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Westbridge Advisory (“Westbridge” or the “Company”), a leading European energy and sustainability advisory firm for institutional real estate clients.

Headquartered in Frankfurt, Westbridge advises real estate clients in procuring energy and reducing their carbon footprint to reach their long-term sustainability goals. The Company has international offices in London, Warsaw and Zurich. Westbridge is currently owned by its founders and GENUI. The founders will significantly reinvest alongside the Permira Funds, while GENUI will fully exit the business. Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory clearances and is expected by the end of Q1 2025.

Founded in 2015, Westbridge has established itself as a trusted advisor to more than 600 institutional real estate clients on all energy and sustainability related matters. The Company has demonstrated double-digit revenue and profitability growth and strong resilience, driven by the increasing demand for green energy solutions and Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG compliance in the property sector. Westbridge’s comprehensive range of services spans energy procurement advisory, green building certifications, ESG data management and sustainability consulting. Permira aims to support the Company’s organic and acquisitive growth – particularly in its plans to expand internationally in a dynamically evolving market.

“We are very much looking forward to writing the next chapter of our success story with Permira. Jointly, we will further internationalise our business and invest in our future growth”, said Yama Mahasher, CEO of Westbridge. “A big thanks to the team of GENUI that has supported us successfully since 2021. We are passionate in solving our clients’ energy and sustainability needs and, with the Permira funds as our new partner, we will drive the energy transition in real estate.”

Florian Kreuzer, Head of DACH at Permira, commented: "We are delighted to partner with the founders of Westbridge. This investment once again underscores our commitment in the DACH region to supporting visionary entrepreneurs in driving profitable growth. With Westbridge playing a pivotal role in reducing the real estate sector’s carbon footprint, the transaction also increasingly aligns with our firm’s new climate investment focus. I’m personally very excited to work together with Yama and the whole Westbridge team and back their vision of building a European champion in energy and sustainability advisory for the real estate sector.”

“The sustainability trend in real estate presents immense growth potential for expert advisory firms like Westbridge. We look forward to leveraging our tech-enabled Services expertise and international network to help Yama and his team to expand into new markets”, added David Brückmann, Managing Director in Permira’s Services Sector. “Westbridge is a great match with Permira’s Services strategy, which focuses on high revenue quality, sticky client relationships and resilient growth.”

“It has been a pleasure for our team and GENUI Entrepreneur Andreas Jacobs as Chairman of Westbridge’s Board, to support Westbridge in scaling not only the business and footprint but also the significant environmental impact of the Company", said Max Odefey of GENUI. "We are proud that Westbridge has developed to become a significant market leader under our ownership with  sales having increased sevenfold, and a series of strategic accretive acquisitions and organic extensions realised. We wish the team and the new majority shareholder Permira all the best for the further successful growth story.”