Bernhard Capital Builds Program Management Platform with Brailsford & Dunlavey Investment

Bernhard Capital Partners (“Bernhard Capital”), a private equity firm focused on services and infrastructure, announced the launch of a dedicated Institutional Program Management (“IPM”) platform today. This initiative is fueled by a controlling investment in Brailsford & Dunlavey (“B&D”), a leading development advisory and program management firm. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

B&D boasts a distinguished record, serving educational institutions, municipalities, sports venues, and non-profit organizations with multidisciplinary advisory, project management, and construction management services since 1993. Their impressive portfolio includes projects for over 1,000 clients across the U.S.

B&D’s expertise encompasses project planning and development, overseeing project activities (preconstruction, construction), and enhancing the operational efficiency of existing assets. Additionally, their CENTERS division offers dedicated facility operations and management services, a first-of-its-kind offering focused on outsourced management of collegiate recreation facilities. CENTERS has since expanded its scope to include all campus centers, providing high-quality operational services to a growing base of educational institutions and non-profits.

“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.”   

Bernhard Capital’s investment in B&D serves as the launchpad for their new IPM platform, aiming to deliver critical program management services to growth-oriented and operationally complex organizations nationwide. B&D’s leadership team, co-CEOs Paul Brailsford and Chris Dunlavey, will remain in place alongside the existing 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.”