Industry stalwart Henry Mott, Vergo Pest Management’s new managing director, tells Simon King about his career and vision for the business
Without doubt Henry Mott has brought a wealth of experience to this role, having stepped up from being Vergo Pest Management’s mergers & acquisitions director.
His CV in the pest control industry dates back to 1993.
However, his journey since then has included roles at the biggest pest control business in the UK; running his own business, Conquer Pest Control, as well as being a past chairman and member of the BPCA board, and completing a three-year stint as chairman of CEPA, the trade association representing professionally trained pest managers at a European level.
Prior to working in the pest control sector, Henry worked for about three years in the timber trade.
“I’d heard of Rentokil, because I used to use Rentokil for its Protim Double Vacuum timber treatment,” he says.
“Having moved to London, I thought I’d find a job in the timber industry somewhere down there. I had a copy of the Timber Trades Journal and there was an advert for a Rentokil surveyor job. That appealed to me, because all I had in my head was that Rentokil did woodworm treatments.”
The job was advertised in Kent and Henry went for the interview; after five minutes or so he cottoned on that Steve Powell was talking about rats and mice, but Henry was only there for woodworm and wood-boring insects.
“It might sound ridiculous, but at the time, I just couldn’t compute the two, because I didn’t think in that way,” Henry says. “I didn’t get the job, but thankfully, Steve Powell said there was an opportunity for the same role in central London. At that time Rentokil’s London East branch was full of characters.
“I went through the Rentokil training, which I have to say, was second to none. I had 12 very happy years at Rentokil and moved up through various jobs and left as manager of Rentokil’s Nottingham branch.”
Henry says that he didn’t like the direction Rentokil was heading in at that time.
“Rather than telling people in Rentokil how they should run a company, I felt I should run my own company and do it my way,” Henry says.
He bought a small company in the Midlands, Conquer Pest Control, and grew that business over 15 years.
“During that time, I had many years on the board of BPCA and as chairman of the board of BPCA, and then I took over as president to CEPA for three years,” he says.
Consultancy role
Through his work and contacts, Henry was asked to do various projects, one of which saw him get involved “as a very low-key consultant” with the acquisition of Mitie by Terminix.
“They asked me to cast my eye over it,” Henry says. “When Terminix bought the remnants of Mitie after the Competition & Markets Authority instructed Rentokil to sell it, Terminix then approached me, as it wanted to buy my business.”
Henry said that back in 2021, the time was right for him to sell Conquer Pest Control to Terminix.
“I had taken the business as far as I wanted to take it as an individual – the money was right – so I joined Terminix,” Henry says.
“Terminix asked me to find companies like mine for acquisition – I’d never done anything like this before, so said I’d give it a go.
“I was quite excited by it, and then four months later, I got a phone call saying, ‘you need to be on a Teams call at 7.30am’ for the announcement that Terminix had been sold to Rentokil.”
Following its acquisition by Rentokil, Terminix Global Holdings announced the sale of Terminix UK to Norwegian-based private equity group Norvestor.
The Terminix UK business was rebranded as Vergo Pest Management on August 1, 2022. “Vergo decided to keep me on, doing the same job. I started the acquisition process under Vergo,” Henry says.
Down to business
Henry says that the Tyro Group, a majority owned by a fund managed by Norvestor, under which Vergo sits, is now the second largest business in the UK, after Rentokil.
“Vergo acquired 27 businesses in two and a half years, adding about £40 million worth of revenue,” Henry says.
He says that pest control is a skilled job, and businesses need to invest in those skills in their workforce.
“What costs pest control companies lots of money is when they’re going back time and time again,” Henry says.
“Especially if you’ve got service level agreements that mean you can’t even charge for it – that’s what kills businesses.”
In terms of Vergo’s client base, Henry says the business is constantly growing.
“We are successful in winning business because we have embraced technology,” he says.
Vergo employs 550 staff, with 400 staff working in the field.
Henry’s vision for Vergo
Henry says that he wants Vergo Pest Management to be a national company that thinks and behaves like a regional business.
“I think regional businesses often deliver the best service and the best customer experience, rather than having a centralised mentality,” Henry says.
“For those that remember, back in the day, Rentokil was very much built on a regional basis, and each individual branch, as they were called, was completely autonomous with its own P&L – and it had to perform like a business within a business.
“We won’t go to that extent these days, because technology has taken us to a level where we don’t need to perhaps be quite as independent, or as separate as that.”
Henry continues: “We’re strengthening our already capable technician’s skillset, while also enhancing customer-facing technology, optimising service delivery, and improving cost control.
“Those things are all about how you create good business. There are a whole host of processes that underpin all of that, and then you’ve got your resources and capabilities beneath that, that you need to review.
“Ultimately, you’ve got customer wants and needs on one side, and you’ve got our wants and needs on the other, and those two need to be compatible.”
New services
Vergo Pest Management has taken on Power Shield, developed by sister business Pelias in Norway.
“It was a game-changing innovation that exceeded expectations,” Henry says.
“Effectively, it puts an invisible barrier across any doorway, any entrance point. It’s got a patented controller that manages the low energy electric current.
“It provides an impenetrable barrier that foraging rodents see as a threat; it’s safe to humans, and vehicles can drive over it.”
Looking ahead
Henry says that Vergo is still on the acquisition trail: “I think that appetite hasn’t necessarily gone yet; for owners considering the next step, now could be a strong time to explore options.
“When sellers and buyers align, success depends on getting the value right, cultural alignment, and customer continuity.
“If you suddenly take those customers who are used to a regional structure, they often have a direct line to the managing director,” Henry says. “If you just change this to a centralised call centre, they won’t feel valued.”