Novitas advised Pegasys on its strategic sale to RSK Group, a global leader in environmental, engineering, and sustainability consulting. This transformative transaction enables Pegasys to accelerate its global expansion while enhancing RSK’s high-value management and strategy consulting capabilities.
Pegasys, a 170-person strategy and management consultancy headquartered in Cape Town, has built a strong reputation for its expertise in sustainability and development across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. With a proven track record in key sectors—including water, climate, transport, cities, waste, innovative finance, and biodiversity—Pegasys sought a strategic partner to accelerate its growth and broaden its global impact.
Novitas was engaged to develop and execute a targeted strategy to secure a partner with the financial strength, technical expertise, and global reach needed to propel Pegasys’s next growth phase. The goal was to strengthen Pegasys’s position in international markets, expand its influence, and reinforce its leadership in sustainability consulting.
Since 2018, Novitas has been advising Pegasys, crafting a strategic roadmap to position the business for a transaction and attract the right strategic buyer. Key considerations included:
- Market Timing – Identifying the optimal conditions for a transaction.
- Strategic Growth Aspirations – Finding a partner aligned with Pegasys’s vision.
- Practice Maturity – Assessing growth trajectory and scale.
- Ownership Structure – Structuring the business to fit within a large international group.
Following a rigorous global search in 2023/24 that attracted interest from 40 top-tier strategic partners, Pegasys selected UK-based RSK Group as the ideal partner to drive its next growth phase.
RSK’s extensive global network and technical capabilities provide a strong foundation for Pegasys’s continued growth. The integration of Pegasys’s strategy and policy consulting expertise with RSK’s engineering and technical solutions creates a powerful force in sustainable development consulting, driving innovation and impact across international markets.
Executive Perspectives
Guy Pegram, Founder, Pegasys
“After 25 years spent building an extraordinary team and business, finding the right partner to scale our vision was crucial. Novitas played a key role in securing a future of innovation and impact for Pegasys.”
Dr. Constantin von der Heyden, CEO, Pegasys
“Joining RSK provides the scale and technical capabilities needed to compete globally for complex, multi-stakeholder projects at a larger scale.”
David Taylor, Divisional Director – Global Division, RSK Group
“This partnership is not just a transaction—it represents a strategic move into high-value management and strategy consulting within the sustainability and development sectors. Pegasys brings a new dimension of expertise to RSK, aligning perfectly with our ambition to be the world’s largest sustainability service provider.”
Dana Gordon-Davis, Founding Partner, Novitas
“The teaming of Pegasys and RSK is a testament to the power of strategic vision, market insight, and expert execution. At Novitas, we are committed to unlocking strategic value through transformative transactions that unlock long-term value. RSK is the perfect partner for Pegasys, providing a global platform from which it can continue to grow and expand globally.”
This acquisition underscores South Africa’s growing prominence as a global knowledge hub in sustainability consulting and reinforces investor confidence in the region’s expertise. The transaction aligns with RSK’s broader vision to expand its services and capabilities by:
- Establishing a strong presence in high-value management and strategy consulting.
- Making its largest investment in Africa to date, strengthening its footprint in emerging markets.
- Enhancing its sustainability and development consulting offerings to provide holistic solutions for governments, international organizations, and private sector clients.
With this strategic partnership in place, Pegasys is poised for accelerated global growth. Novitas remains committed to guiding businesses toward transformative deals that unlock long-term value.