Photo courtesy of: Greg Land

Investment in Brailsford & Dunlavey Establishes Institutional Program Management Platform for Bernhard Capital Partners

July 1, 2024

Reprinted from Bernhard Capital Partners Management, LP, June 27, 2024

Platform to Provide Industry-Leading, Multi-Disciplinary Development Advisory and Project Management Services Focused on Institutional Infrastructure

Bernhard Capital Partners

BATON ROUGE, La.June 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Bernhard Capital Partners (“Bernhard Capital” or “BCP”), a services and infrastructure-focused private equity management firm, today announced the establishment of a dedicated institutional program management (“IPM”) platform through an investment in Brailsford & Dunlavey (“B&D”), a premier development advisory and program management firm. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Brailsford & Dunlavey is a leading provider of multi-disciplinary advisory, project management, and construction management services for educational institutions, municipal agencies, sports venues, and non‐profits. Since its founding in 1993, B&D has completed projects for more than 1,000 clients across all 50 U.S. states. B&D’s advisory work includes project planning and development, implementation and oversight of project activities such as preconstruction and construction, and improving the operational efficiency and effectiveness of existing assets.

In addition to its industry-leading advisory capabilities, B&D also serves clients through its dedicated facility operations and management business, CENTERS, which was established as the first company in the industry solely focused on outsourced management of collegiate recreation assets. Today, CENTERS has broadened its focus to include all campus centers, such as student and convocation centers, and continues to deliver high-quality operational services to a growing number of educational institutions and non-profits. This includes support for marketing and retail merchandising, personnel management, student development, asset management, facility maintenance, and third-party contract oversight.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with B&D, the best-in-class IPM firm and the largest advisory and program management provider focused on the education and non-profit sectors,” said Mark Spender, Partner at Bernhard Capital. “As the cornerstone of our institutional program management platform, we look forward to working alongside B&D’s experienced and dynamic leadership team and leveraging our proprietary Blueprint framework to accelerate the platform’s growth strategy through acquisitions, as well as expanded capabilities. We’re confident that B&D’s talented team and existing customer relationships across its business segments will serve as a strong foundation for the success of our IPM platform.”

With its investment in Brailsford & Dunlavey, Bernhard Capital’s newly created IPM platform will seek to provide critical program management services to a variety of growth-oriented and operationally complex organizations across the country. B&D will continue to be led by co-CEOs Paul Brailsford and Chris Dunlavey alongside the existing leadership team.

“In recent years, B&D has successfully grown our advisory and management capabilities to serve an expanded base of clients while maintaining the exceptional service our customers have come to expect,” said Mr. Brailsford. “We found an ideal partner in the Bernhard Capital team, who share our commitment to outstanding client outcomes and bring a depth of investment and operating expertise that will help accelerate our growth and momentum across the business. We look forward to our continued success as part of the BCP ecosystem.”

About Bernhard Capital Partners

Bernhard Capital Partners is a services and infrastructure-focused private equity management firm established in 2013. Bernhard Capital Partners has deployed capital in four funds across several strategies and has more than $4 billion of gross assets under management. Bernhard Capital Partners seeks to create sustainable value by leveraging its experience in acquiring, operating, and growing services and infrastructure businesses. For more information, visit www.BernhardCapital.com.

About Brailsford & Dunlavey

Brailsford & Dunlavey is a Washington, DC‐headquartered national advisory and program management firm with comprehensive in‐house planning and implementation capabilities, dedicated to serving public agencies, professional sports organizations, educational institutions, and non‐profit clients. B&D has more than 200 people in seven offices throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.bdconnect.com.

Contacts

Media
Ed Trissel / Erik Carlson
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(212) 355-4449

"The leadership and information from B&D, and the clarity with which they provide it, brings added credibility to the process and ensures that a range of university stakeholders, including senior leadership and our board, are fully informed for – and confident in – their required decision making.”

B.J. Crain, Former Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration
Texas Woman’s University

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