PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 01 — Nautic Partners, LLC announced that it closed the sale of portfolio company HES Facilities Management (“HES” or the “Company”) to GI Partners.
Headquartered in Knoxville, TN, HES is one of the nation’s leading providers of janitorial, facilities management, and groundskeeping services to education institutions and commercial customers with a presence in more than 30 states. HES was founded in 2020 by Nautic Partners and management and scaled under the leadership of Charlie Spencer as President and CEO, and Buddy Helton as Chairman of the Board. The Company is known for its high service quality and deep expertise in the education market, enabling schools and universities to maintain safe, clean, and well-managed learning environments.
Bernie Buonanno, Managing Director of Nautic, said “Nautic is incredibly proud of what Buddy Helton, Charlie Spencer, and the rest of the HES team have accomplished over the past five years. Having launched the platform in 2020, the management team quickly established HES as one of the leading facilities management providers in the education market.”
Michael Brofft, Principal of Nautic, added “Buddy and Charlie are industry veterans in the education facilities management market and have been excellent long-term partners to Nautic. Their decades of experience, operational execution and commitment to growth have been instrumental in driving the Company’s success.”
“Our partnership with Nautic Partners was a pivotal chapter for HES Facilities Management,” said Buddy Helton, Chairman of HES. “Their strategic guidance and operational expertise from the origin of HES helped accelerate our growth, expand our footprint, and strengthen the value we deliver to our K-12, higher education, and commercial facility partners. Nautic was a true partner throughout this journey, and we are proud of what we accomplished together.”
Charlie Spencer, CEO of HES, said “Working alongside Nautic strengthened HES in meaningful and lasting ways. Their perspective and disciplined approach helped sharpen our focus, enhance execution, and position the Company for its next phase of growth. We appreciate the trust that Nautic placed in our team and the foundation that we built together.”
“HES represents the Nautic Services team’s third successful exit in the outsourced education services market. We believe that our strategy to build the company in partnership with management serves as a core example of Nautic’s investment playbook at work,” said Shahan Zafar, Managing Director of Nautic.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Baird served as financial advisor, and Troutman Pepper Locke served as legal advisor to HES and Nautic Partners.