Nautic Partners Close on HES Sale to GI Partners

Contributed by BSM Staff

PROVIDENCE, RI -- Nautic Partners, LLC, a private equity firm, has closed on the sale of portfolio company HES Facilities Management to GI Partners.

Headquartered in Knoxville, TN, HES is a provider 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 deep expertise in the education market, enabling schools and universities to maintain safe, clean, and well-managed learning environments.

“Nautic is incredibly proud of what Buddy Helton, Charlie Spencer, and the rest of the HES team have accomplished over the past five years,” said Bernie Buonanno, managing director of Nautic. “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, said, “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.”

Helton said, “Our partnership with Nautic Partners was a pivotal chapter for HES Facilities Management. 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.”

CEO Spencer 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.

For more information, go to www.hes.com or www.nautic.com.