NSI acquires LSB: the cleaning company acquisition that takes a northern French group into the Indian Ocean

NSI Groupe, the northern French consolidator of the cleaning sector

Founded in 2012 by Romain Tellier, then aged 24, and based in Marly, near Valenciennes in the Nord department of northern France, NSI Groupe has grown in commercial cleaning and multi-services for businesses and public-sector organisations. The unlisted group generated EUR 80m in revenue in 2025 with nearly 5,000 employees and a network of 25 branches, completing four acquisitions in 2026 alone: RM Propreté in January, EPSO in April, ASHUB in early July — and LSB a few days later. Its strategy is set out in the published Ambition 2030 plan — EUR 150m in revenue and a place in the French top 10 — which this deal accelerates dramatically: integrating LSB takes consolidated revenue to nearly EUR 120m, three years ahead of the trajectory, and opens the way to future international development.

LSB, the Indian Ocean's leading cleaning group

Based in Réunion and Mayotte and chaired by Pascal Leandri, the LSB group brings together the companies of two complementary cleaning and hygiene divisions: ABC Entretien, the long-established business founded in 1988, whose recognised expertise extends to certified products and equipment for large retail stores, and SCTE, organised into cleaning, hygiene and environmental services units. Its published figures point to a leading position on the islands: EUR 18.5m in revenue in 2025, nearly 750 employees, and rare institutional standing — in 2016 the group was a founding member of the cleaning companies' union within the Réunion business federation, of which its managing director has been vice-chair since its creation. Continuity is at the heart of the published arrangement: Vincent Bernard, who has spent 25 years at LSB, has been appointed managing director of NSI Groupe Océan Indien, responsible for driving the development of this new region.

What the press said about the acquisition

The deal, announced in mid-July 2026 a few days after the ASHUB acquisition, was covered by the national, regional and trade business press:

Why this cleaning company acquisition, and why this target

For NSI Groupe, the stake is a change of geography: after regional markets in mainland France and a specialist vertical, growth crosses the sea — "this is our first integration outside mainland France", the group's official announcement points out, presenting it as a move to develop in high-potential territories. Yet an island territory cannot be served from mainland France: contracts there are awarded locally — offices, retailers and public-sector buyers in Réunion and Mayotte award work to those who are on the ground, with their teams and their knowledge of the territory. Entering the market therefore means acquiring the established player: the deal delivers at a stroke both divisions, 750 employees and a leading position — and takes consolidated revenue to nearly EUR 120m, three years ahead of the published plan, while opening the way to international expansion.

On the target side, the LSB group had the full profile of an island gateway: an established position across two territories — Réunion and Mayotte —, a long history — ABC Entretien, founded in 1988 — combined with skills extended to environmental services through SCTE, verifiable institutional legitimacy — a founding member of the cleaning union within the Réunion business federation, whose managing director has been its vice-chair since 2016 —, and above all a depth of local management that the deal formalises: Vincent Bernard, a quarter of a century with the group, promoted to managing director of the new NSI Groupe Océan Indien region. For a mainland acquirer, this answers the question every distant territory raises — who will run it? — by promoting the man who knows every client: continuity not as a concession, but as architecture.

Cleaning sector consolidation reaches France's overseas territories

This deal illustrates the new frontier of consolidation in French commercial cleaning: having covered the regional markets of mainland France and moved into specialist verticals, consolidators are now crossing the sea — and the overseas territories change the rules. Island territories are complete yet closed markets: cleaning is a major employer there, contracts are awarded locally — from offices to retailers and public-sector buyers — and positions are built over decades, often within multi-activity family groups; you do not enter by opening a branch, but by securing the leading player, with its teams, its governance and its institutional legitimacy. Established overseas groups thus become the gateways to a consolidation that is now national in the fullest sense — mainland and overseas.

The deal also shows a trajectory accelerating: four acquisitions in seven months — the Normandy market, the Toulouse market, the gym vertical, and now two Indian Ocean territories —, consolidated revenue taken from EUR 80m to nearly EUR 120m, and an Ambition 2030 plan whose EUR 100m milestone, set for 2026, has been passed three years ahead of the overall trajectory. Employment follows scale and local roots: nearly 750 employees join a group of 5,000, under regional management promoted from within — and the published reference to future international development makes this first crossing a dress rehearsal.

How Collaboration Capital added value as buy-side adviser

On this deal, Collaboration Capital acted as buy-side adviser. A first overseas acquisition plays out in four stages — and distance, far from being a mere logistical parameter, governs each of them.