AUCTUS completes the sale of Builtech Group after creating one of Europe’s most significant TBE providers

AUCTUS has completed the sale of the Builtech Group to the Netherlands-based VDK Groep. With regulatory clearance from the European Commission pending, the merger will form a powerful pan-European player in Technical Building Equipment (TBE), comprising over 150 companies, more than 7,000 employees, and generating around €2 billion in revenue.
This marks a major milestone for the future of the skilled trades and building technology sector in Europe.

The Builtech Group has evolved into one of Europe’s most comprehensive TBE providers. Today, the group unites more than 50 companies and over 2,000 employees across the DACH region and Sweden, offering a fully integrated service portfolio ranging from electrical and building automation to plumbing, heating, climate control, ventilation and technical building envelopes.

Builtech delivers both small-scale technical assignments and large, multi-million-euro commercial projects — exclusively for B2B clients. Its customers span retail, industrial, logistics, office, education and broader commercial real estate sectors. As a strategic partner to property owners and general contractors, the group plays a central role in modernizing Europe’s building stock.

With an annual output exceeding €500 million, Builtech is today a recognized enabler of Europe’s building transformation — contributing to decarbonization, energy efficiency, climate goals and the digitalization of building infrastructure.

After an intensive conceptual preparation phase, AUCTUS made its first investment in a Berlin-based TBE company in 2018 through a targeted direct approach. Additional companies in predefined metropolitan regions were continuously identified and personally visited over the following years by the deal team led by Dr. Daniel Meuthen and Robert Knorrek.

While the companies continued to operate with decentralized responsibility for their customers, projects, and results, a dedicated post-merger integration program was launched to centralize key scalable functions. As part of this effort, finance and controlling were converted to IFRS reporting standards, IT systems and processes were harmonized, and purchasing volumes were consolidated, enabling significant material cost savings.

At the same time, the employer brand Builtech was established and positioned as Germany’s fastest-growing TBE group. Under a unified people strategy, employee recruitment and retention initiatives were implemented, and training and development programs were rolled out. In total, more than 30 personnel succession cases were successfully executed.

In late 2020, an external group management team was put in place with Maurice von Dalwigk and Daniel Lehmann to further advance the vision: turning a highly fragmented, locally based skilled trades landscape into a modern, scalable and European-relevant TBE network.

• Establishment of a centrally guided platform with decentralized profit responsibility and strong regional identity
• Establishment of a centrally guided platform with decentralized profit responsibility and strong regional identity
• Completion of 50 add-on acquisitions by 2025 — in one of Europe’s most fragmented TBE markets
• Development of a centralized service hub to address skills shortages and drive digitalization
• Formation of regional clusters offering all core TBE trades from a single source
• Organic expansion through new site openings
• Professionalization of the holding structure (Finance, HR, Marketing, Recruiting, M&A)
• Building a strong employer brand and launching the Builtech Academy for workforce development

Builtech is a strong AUCTUS example of how a demanding Buy-and-Build process — with complex integrations, economic hurdles, cultural alignment, leadership challenges and rapid scaling — can unlock substantial value. These are precisely the conditions under which AUCTUS’ strengths become most effective.

The exit of Builtech is much more than a successful transaction — it is a flagship example of AUCTUS’ Buy-and-Build approach:

• Entrepreneurial mindset: ownership, speed, decisive teamwork
• Partnership with entrepreneurs: respecting regional identity and giving companies autonomy
• Securing succession and enabling long-term futures for skilled-trade businesses
• Value creation through operational excellence and professionalization, not just growth
• Fast, precise integration driven by strong systems, methods and leadership

Builtech demonstrates how mid-sized companies in fragmented, fast-growing markets can be brought together, scaled and developed into European market leaders.