Foresight sells TES Group to Legrand for fourfold gain

Foresight has sold TES Group to Legrand, generating a fourfold return on its invested funds.

TES, an electrical engineering manufacturer based in Northern Ireland, has grown sharply since Foresight invested in 2024. During the investment period, revenue rose by 84% to £72 million, and employee numbers increased by 60% to 280 across two manufacturing sites.

Founded in 1999 by Chief Executive Brian Taylor and Managing Director Noel McCracken, TES supplies power distribution equipment and engineering services for critical infrastructure across the UK, Ireland and Europe.

The business operates through two divisions. TES Power designs and manufactures low-voltage power distribution equipment, largely for datacentres, while TES Water provides mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control and automation design-and-build services to water and wastewater utility companies in the UK and Ireland.

In 2023, TES Water completed substantial works on the Irish Water Ringsend wastewater treatment plant upgrade. The plant is now the largest in Ireland and processes about 40% of all public wastewater.

Growth period

Under Foresight's ownership, TES expanded its manufacturing footprint in Northern Ireland. The group enlarged its head office and manufacturing facility in Cookstown, County Tyrone, and opened the TES Power Data Centre campus in County Derry, adding more than 300,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

The expansion was intended to meet rising demand for data centre infrastructure equipment. During this period, the business also developed a manufacturing production line focused on health and safety, automation and process efficiency.

When Foresight invested, James Peacock joined the business as non-executive chair. TES also conducted its first carbon emissions audit and introduced an emissions-reduction plan.

The manufacturer upgraded lighting across its sites to reduce energy use and emissions. It also introduced 30 apprenticeships in 2025 and sought to improve the proportion of female recruits in a sector long dominated by men.

Ireland focus

The sale adds to a run of recent transactions for Foresight in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Over the past three years, it has completed six investments and three exits in the region, and has more than £100 million available for investment across the island.

Its investment in TES included backing from investors such as AIB and the British Business Bank. Foresight has invested more than £100 million in businesses across Northern Ireland and Ireland to date.

Recent exits in the region include Kingsbridge Healthcare Group and Hospital Services Limited. The firm said it remains among the most active investors in the UK and Ireland.

Graeme Mckinstry, Director at Foresight Group, described TES as a strong example of the businesses the firm backs across the UK and Ireland.

"Led by a highly impressive management team, TES is an excellent example of our unique commitment to investing in growing companies across the UK and Ireland. TES has established itself as a leading provider of power distribution equipment across the European datacentre market and remains a trusted supplier to UK and Irish critical infrastructure network providers. It has been a pleasure to support the business through a period of significant growth. We wish its dedicated and entrepreneurial team every success under the new ownership and are confident it will continue to thrive," said Mckinstry.

Taylor said the investment helped TES scale to meet a rapid increase in demand.

"The partnership with Foresight has been a pivotal chapter in the TES story. Their investment provided the capital and the confidence to scale our operations rapidly, particularly as we addressed the surging global demand for data centre infrastructure. We are grateful for their guidance and the collaborative spirit they brought to our board, which helped us professionalise our processes while maintaining our entrepreneurial culture. Joining Legrand represents a fantastic opportunity for our people and our customers as we move into this next phase of international growth," said Brian Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of TES.

McCracken said Foresight's support helped the business broaden its reach beyond its original market base.

"Foresight's support over the last two years has been instrumental in our evolution from a regional specialist to a major European player in critical power and water infrastructure. Beyond the financial investment, their focus on sustainability and social value helped us accelerate our ESG initiatives and apprenticeship programmes. We thank the Foresight team for their belief in our vision and for being a true partner in our success. We are excited to continue this momentum as part of Legrand," said McCracken.