After A Hat-Trick Of Awards At The Insider Yorkshire Dealmaker Awards Private Equity Firm Endless Targets Further Investment Into Yorkshire Businesses In 2025

As the Leeds headquartered firm enters its 20th year, Endless remains committed to supporting the development of great Yorkshire businesses.

A trusted investor

Having invested in over 100 businesses to date, we are proud to be a longstanding and established member of the local Private Equity community who has been trusted with the ownership and development of many great Yorkshire businesses.

The team was recently recognised at the Insider Yorkshire Dealmaker Awards, winning:

• PE Firm of the Year — Endless and Enact
• International Exit of the Year — for Endless investment in Sewtec Automation
• Dealmaker of the Year — Andy Ross Endless Investment Partner

An investment approach fit for the region

We started here in Leeds in 2005, and have developed and grown over the last 19 years — now operating with two investment funds and teams, Endless (a £400m fund) and Enact (a £100m fund), where can invest between £1m and over £100m into businesses with revenues greater than £20m. The two funds approach gives us reach across most established businesses in the region, whilst keeping focus on the important differences between growing pains of SMEs and the strategic development of larger businesses.

We have a long track record of investing in and then further developing business services and manufacturing companies.

Endless and Enact offer solutions that others can’t. We specialise in tailored investment strategies that address the unique challenges and opportunities of each business. From nurturing the next generation of family-owned enterprises to revitalising established companies, our approach is designed to unlock potential and drive significant growth.

We often make investments in a matter of weeks — something that we can only do because of our unique approach — we routinely undertake all financial and commercial diligence in house and in most investments we fund the entire transactions ourselves with no requirement to obtain bank funding — these two elements can remove months from an acquisition process and mean we are the only decision maker you are dealing with and we are in control of the pace and delivery of the deal.

Family-owned businesses

Endless and Enact aim to be transformational investors. We look for opportunities to work closely alongside management teams to evolve and mature our businesses, often whilst facilitating an exit or partial exit of the founder/family owners.

This could be through substantial M&A activity, capital investment into facilities and operations, or working to deliver a new strategic direction for the business. We don’t expect the businesses we invest in to be the fully finished article.

A recent example of this was the Endless Investment in Sewtec Automation. The original investment was made in 2017 to enable the retirement of its long-term owner and manager.

Endless initially supported the development of the management team with a new Managing Director and Finance Director completing a well experienced operational team within the business. Following a period of growth, the business was relocated nearby to a 75,000 sq ft state-of-the-art facility in Wakefield.

The business continued to grown, and the number of employees doubled before the business was then sold to US-based Automated Industrial Robotics in August 2024.

As family owned/owner managers consider the implications of the recent Autumn Statement, changes in strategy may be required. Endless and Enact can offer a wide range of investment structures to align with the shareholders short and medium-term objectives.

Carve-outs from larger groups

Both Endless and Enact also have a long history of being trusted with the non-core divisions of larger groups, often international and/or listed owners.

Enact supported the carve out of one of England’s leading providers of Apprenticeships and Adult Education in October 2020, acquiring the business previously known as Interserve Learning & Employment from the Interserve Group. The carve out saw the company become a standalone training provider and launched a new brand identity as Realise Training.

Endless and Enact’s experience in non-core acquisitions and its reputation of being a good home for businesses meant that Enact was the preferred partner to support Realise in its transition to new ownership and prepare for the next phase of growth.

Since the investment, Enact has supported the business in several areas from investing in people and culture, M&A activity and to the development of a long-term growth strategy.

Today, Realise is a quality focussed provider of training solutions tailored to skills and regulatory needs of employers and people in critical infrastructure sectors, aiming to promote social mobility and reduce economic inactivity by upskilling learners in these sectors.

The business now employs over 500 people, supporting more than 16,500 learners a year across the UK. In addition to year on year organic growth, it also made two acquisitions to form the Realise Group. This strategy is set to continue as the business recently raised a multi-million pound acquisition facility to support further growth through acquisitions, which Enact will continue to support with its in-house due diligence team.

What do you want to achieve in 2025?

If a potential sale of your business or a part of your business you work at is on the cards for 2025 — please do get in touch for a chat.

I lead our investment activity in the region for Endless, with Chris Cormack and Paul Denvers leading for Enact. We love to learn about new businesses and to explore whether we might be able to structure a transaction to meet the needs of all stakeholders. As set out above, we don’t need all the due diligence documents completed ahead of a chat and we don’t need your business to be all perfect and wrapped up in a bow for us to be able to invest.