In 2015, Noverra was approached by a business broker representing Jim Thorpe, the Founder/Owner of Thorpe Design, based in Brentwood, California. Jim had founded and run Thorpe for over twenty-five years, navigating the ups and downs of the construction business. He was interested in transitioning to his next phase in life, which included a desire to move out of state, and the financial stability to be gained from selling his business.
The size of business, geographic location, market demand for fire protection services in California, a strong internal team, and a history of good operating results was compelling to Noverra.
Thorpe Design had a strong management team and an internal candidate, who was Jim’s son-in-law, that was capable of being developed into the Company President, succeeding Jim as the operational leader.
Through the deal process, the Noverra team worked with Jim to create a deal structure that met both his financial and non-financial desires which included enabling him to transition out of the leadership of the company relatively quickly, creating a leadership path for his son-in-law; providing stable, long-term ownership for the management and employees he cared for, and providing him with financial confidence regarding the funds he would have available for his next phase of life.
The deal involved fixed consideration and a vendor take-back loan with Jim, and a reward-sharing arrangement with his son-in-law who would step into the President role with Noverra’s support.
The deal closed at the end of 2015. The New President remained the active leader in the business for six and a half years. He, along with Noverra, groomed his second in command to take over as President in mid-2021, as he moved on to pursue other endeavours.
Thorpe continues to perform very well as a business with much the same management team from 2015 and under successive internally developed leaders who have continued the great cultural practices of the business which were present under Jim’s leadership.
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