Benford Launches Environmental Compliance Platform with CGRS Buy

Benford Capital Partners has acquired CGRS, a provider of environmental compliance and infrastructure services, in partnership with founder and chief executive officer Eric Hick, who is retaining an ownership interest in the business.

CGRS provides testing, inspection, certification, and compliance services — collectively referred to as TICC (testing, inspection, certification, and compliance) — alongside environmental remediation and infrastructure construction to western United States-based fuel retailers, oil and gas operators, utilities, municipal agencies, and commercial property owners operating in highly regulated environments.

The company’s services span environmental assessments and investigations, underground and aboveground storage tank compliance and closure, leak detection, remediation, emergency spill response, stormwater management, and water and wastewater construction. CGRS also provides compliance services for refined fuels and oil and gas customers, including fuel quality testing, spill prevention planning, and design-build project management. CGRS is headquartered near Denver in Fort Collins, Colorado.

“Over the last four decades, our team has built CGRS into a services provider for our loyal and growing customer base,” said Mr. Hick. “We were looking for a partner that would not only serve as an excellent steward for the business, but also one with proven experience scaling inspection and testing businesses. BCP was the clear choice and I’m excited to partner with them moving forward.”

The regulatory environment underpinning CGRS’s business is strengthening. According to EY‘s Testing, Inspection and Certification Study 2025, the long-term trend of new regulatory requirements across industries is driving sustained demand for TIC services, with environmental compliance and sustainability requirements identified as durable growth drivers independent of short-term economic cycles. North American TIC market revenues are projected to grow from $70 billion in 2025 to $79 billion by 2030, according to MarketsandMarkets, driven by EPA environmental standards and the increasing outsourcing of compliance services across energy, infrastructure, and industrial markets.

“We are thrilled to partner with Eric and the CGRS team at this exciting inflection point for the company,” said Ben Riefe, a managing director at Benford Capital. “We look forward to preserving the company’s excellent reputation and culture in partnership with its outstanding leadership team and building on this strong foundation in the years ahead.”

Chicago-based Benford Capital Partners invests in lower middle-market companies with revenues ranging from $10 million to $200 million and EBITDA between $3 million and $20 million. The firm focuses on sectors such as industrial technology, food and consumer products, agricultural products and services, and specialty services and distribution. Benford closed Benford Capital Partners III in March 2025 at $365 million, above its $300 million target. The acquisition of CGRS is the third platform investment for Fund III. The Benford deal team was led by Mr. Riefe and included Brian Staff, Andrew King, Connor Bonecutter, and Evan Lakins.

Forvis Mazars Capital Advisors was the financial advisor to CGRS. Twin Brook Capital Partners provided debt financing to support the transaction.