Alantra supports Exponent on its investment in Ethos Engineering

Mar 2024

Buy-side advisory

London – Alantra, the independent global mid-market financial services firm, has supported Exponent, a leading European private equity firm, on its investment in Ethos Engineering (“Ethos” or “the Company”), a Dublin-based leader in sustainable data centre design services delivered across EMEA.

Ethos provides mechanical and electrical engineering solutions to a range of blue-chip companies, with a focus on sustainable data centre design for some of the world’s leading technology companies. The Company has worked on more than 90 data centres across 19 countries in EMEA, representing over 2 GW of capacity, as well as being an established market leader in its home market Ireland, supporting its position as a rapidly growing technology hub. The data centre market is expected to show strong structural growth in the coming years, driven by increasing consumption of data, the continued shift to the cloud and rapidly evolving AI requirements.

The investment by Exponent will accelerate Ethos’ growth plans, expand the range of services it offers, and allow further development of its technology, capabilities, and people. Exponent is backing the incumbent management team led by Chief Executive Greg Hayden.

Exponent has a long track record of investing in market leading, founder-led, Irish-based businesses. Ethos is the firm’s seventh platform investment in Ireland and underscores the opportunity Exponent continues to see in a market characterised by a robust and innovative regulatory framework as well as a sophisticated investment environment.

Exponent was supported by Robert Pearce and Richard Ludwig.

Robert Pearce, Director at Alantra, said, “It was a pleasure supporting Exponent on its investment in Ethos. We applied our experience of working with engineering and consulting businesses, combined with our knowledge of the digital infrastructure sector, to help deliver a successful outcome for Exponent. We look forward to watching Ethos’s ongoing success in partnership with Exponent.”

Richard Ludwig, Director at Alantra, said, “The demand for data centre capacity is growing far beyond anyone’s expectations, driven by both the continued need for cloud services and an acceleration in AI workloads. This transaction is a great example of how investors are increasingly looking at various parts of the data centre supply chain to gain access to the end market growth and showcases Alantra’s deep sector knowledge across both digital infrastructure and the built environment.”

Anthony Clegg from Exponent, said, “Increasing digitalisation of the global economy, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence and cloud services, will continue to drive demand for data centres around the world. We are excited by the opportunities this creates for Ethos, as a trusted design partner to some of the leading global data centre players, to deliver sustainable design services on an increasingly international stage.” John Moore from Exponent, added, “We are delighted that Greg and his team have chosen Exponent as their partner for the company’s next phase. They have built a great business with a strong culture and real technical expertise, addressing exciting end markets. We look forward to working closely with them in the years ahead.”