Wates Pays for Growth: WPS Acquires £29m Surrey FM Firm Calibre

Wates-owned WPS has acquired Calibre Building Services, a Surrey facilities management firm with £29m turnover, to strengthen its in-house mechanical and electrical maintenance capability.

Calibre, based in Redhill, brings almost 200 staff and a client portfolio of building management customers across London, the South East and the Midlands. The firm's turnover reached £29m in the year to April 2026, up from £26.9m the previous year, though pre-tax profit more than halved to £433,000 from £994,000.

Who is Calibre and what does the deal cover?

Founded in 2011 and co-owned by directors Steve Welch and Matt Mabey, Calibre specialises in mechanical, electrical and public health services. The company will continue trading under its own name, with WPS backing what the buyer calls its next phase of growth.

Law firm Knights advised Calibre's shareholders on the sale.

Why does Wates want the business?

The acquisition strengthens WPS's ability to deliver work with its own teams as it targets a bigger share of the FM market. The wider Wates property services business maintains thousands of workplaces and looks after more than half a million social homes nationally.

Jack Prady, managing director of WPS Facilities Management, said: "We're delighted to welcome Calibre on board as we continue to expand our national footprint, alongside creating strategic agility in what we can offer to our managing agent customers."

He added: "As a trusted FM partner to building managers, they are an ideal fit."

Welch, Calibre's co-owner, said: "Matt and I are incredibly proud of how far we've come as a business over the last 15 years and we're confident that joining the team at Wates will allow us to continue to provide the very best facilities management services to building managers across the UK."

What does the deal signal?

The purchase consolidates an M&E specialist with 15 years of trading history into one of the UK's largest family-owned construction and property services groups. Calibre's falling margins — profit down from £994,000 to £433,000 despite rising revenue — point to the scale advantages that drove the sale, as smaller FM operators face pressure on maintenance contract profitability.

For WPS, the deal adds direct delivery capacity across three regions where it already maintains workplaces and social housing stock. The retention of the Calibre brand suggests Wates intends to grow the business rather than absorb it, with the Redhill firm now positioned to bid for larger contracts under Wates Group ownership.