NSI acquires Gesti-Pro: a cleaning company acquisition to break into the Paris region and scale up

NSI Groupe, the northern French commercial cleaning consolidator

Founded in 2012 by Romain Tellier, then aged 24, and based in Marly, near Valenciennes in the Nord department, NSI Groupe has grown in commercial cleaning and multi-service facility services for businesses and public-sector organisations. Privately held, the group had 2,700 employees before the deal and 2023 revenue of EUR 38.25 million — EUR 37.87 million of it from cleaning alone — ranking it 29th among French cleaning companies. Its strategy is set out in a published plan, Ambition 2030: build a strong national network, join the top 10 of the French cleaning industry, and make progress on three stated pillars — innovation, quality and CSR commitment.

Gesti-Pro, a leading player in Paris-region commercial cleaning

Founded in 1987 and based in Paris's 8th arrondissement, Gesti-Pro has established itself as a leading cleaning and multi-service provider in Île-de-France, serving corporate and public clients across the capital region. What sets it apart is the depth of its organisation: nearly 850 employees — a size few independent Paris-region firms reach — a long-standing presence in Île-de-France and expansion over the past decade or so into the Centre region. Continuity rests on the teams and the contracts: all 850 employees join the group, and the company publicly welcomed the combination as a significant step in its development, opening new prospects alongside an acquirer whose expertise, energy and innovative approach it highlighted.

Press coverage of the NSI–Gesti-Pro acquisition

The deal, announced on 16 October 2024, was covered by Services, the leading trade publication for the French cleaning industry, which went on to report on what followed. The two key articles (in French):

Why this cleaning company acquisition, and why this target

For NSI Groupe, the aim was twofold: to establish itself in the Paris-region market — the heart of France's office and services economy, where the northern group did not yet hold a leading position — and to change scale in a single move, in a business where size determines access to large tenders. The acquisition meets both goals exactly: it brings an established position in Île-de-France and takes the group from 2,700 to more than 3,500 employees. “This strategic transaction strengthens our presence in the region,” said Romain Tellier, chairman of NSI Groupe — stressing the leading position thus gained and how well the deal fits the Ambition 2030 plan, which targets a national network and a place in the top 10 of the French cleaning industry.

On the target side, Gesti-Pro offered a rare profile in the Paris-region market: thirty-seven years of history, nearly 850 employees — a size most independent firms in the region never reach — an established base of corporate and public clients in Île-de-France, and an expansion already completed into the Centre region, foreshadowing the network the acquirer wants to build. In cleaning, acquiring a company means acquiring a portfolio of contracts and the teams that deliver them: the target's value lay in the strength of that combination, which the acquirer's press release acknowledged by citing the know-how of Gesti-Pro's teams and the synergies expected from combining it with the expertise of NSI's staff. The target, for its part, publicly chose its new parent: a significant step in its development, alongside a group it describes as innovative and committed.

French commercial cleaning is consolidating fast

This deal illustrates the reshaping of one of France's largest employing sectors: cleaning, made up of thousands of often family-owned businesses, is consolidating under threefold pressure — from clients, who are pooling their purchasing and demanding national coverage, innovation and CSR commitments; from recruitment shortages; and from the critical mass needed to invest in digitalising operations. Regional consolidators that want to count must move up quickly: the Paris-region market, the heart of the national office economy, is a must for any large-scale project — and sizeable targets there are few and far between.

The deal also tells a distinctive French entrepreneurial story: a group founded in 2012 in the Valenciennes area by a 24-year-old founder, which doubles in size through this acquisition — from 2,700 to more than 3,500 employees — and whose acceleration the trade press would go on to document: a buy-and-build pursued at a sustained pace, consolidated revenue pushed towards EUR 120 million and Ambition 2030 targets reached three years early. For the 850 Paris-region employees, the transfer means continuity of teams within a growing group; for the sector, it signals a new generation of regional consolidators that have risen to the front rank in just a few years.

Collaboration Capital's added value as buy-side adviser on this deal

On this deal, Collaboration Capital acted as buy-side adviser. An acquisition in labour-intensive services plays out in four stages — and the nature of the asset, contracts delivered by teams, gives each of them a sector-specific lens.