Evolutions secures investment from specialist SME fund, Enact

Evolutions, one of the UK’s leading independent post-production facilities based in London and Bristol, has today announced specialist SME investment firm, Enact, as a major investor. The partnership will see an ambitious growth strategy put in place to strengthen Evolutions’ standing as a full-service post production house, delivering high-end quality work for the UK’s leading production outfits.

Enact will invest to support growth and enable Evolutions to significantly expand its premium post-production capabilities, including a brand-new suite of innovative technical solutions for remote working borne out of the production challenges caused by COVID-19.

Under the terms of the new deal Jim Campbell steps into the role of Chairman and Enact’s Chris Cormack will hold the position of Non-Executive Director. Evolutions’ CEO Simon Kanjee will continue to drive the business forward, alongside Sales Director Darren Musgrove, Technical Director Owen Tyler, and Creative Director Tim O’Brien.

Enact Fund II, a Fund managed by Endless LLP, invests transformational capital of up to £5 million into UK based SMEs that that have not reached their full potential, face challenges to growth, and typically do not fit the investment criteria of traditional private equity or bank funding.

The individuals who comprise the investor base of Enact Fund II include successful entrepreneurs, existing and former Board members of successful businesses, and management from former portfolio companies. The single biggest investor in the Fund is the Endless and Enact partner and employee group.

Simon Kanjee, Evolutions CEO said: “This is an exciting new chapter for us, with the investment from Enact we are perfectly positioned to accelerate the growth of the business in this rapidly changing environment. The global pandemic has had a significant effect on the industry although we’ve quickly adapted by developing and delivering remote post-production solutions and workflows which have become essential for our clients. This investment will unlock huge potential for us, with the demand for content at an all-time high, it has arguably never been a better time to grow the Evolutions business, and we look forward to working with Chris, Jim, and the Enact team on doing just that.” 

Chris Cormack, Partner – Enact added: “Evolutions is a prominent player in the post-production industry, and we see significant growth potential as consumers’ demand for content continues to increase exponentially across both traditional and new SVoD platforms. Evolutions are an innovative company led by a strong management team with the experience and ability to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the dramatically evolving content landscape.”

The deal was brokered on behalf of Evolutions by specialist business advisory firm FRP.

Tony Wright, Partner at FRP, said: “It’s been a pleasure to support Simon and his team on such a significant deal for the business. With the investment and support from Enact, Evolutions is well-placed to capitalise on growth opportunities within the market and has an even stronger platform to drive the business forward.”

Recent projects and clients include the Channel 4 dating series ‘First Dates’ for Twenty Twenty, reality series ‘TOWIE’ and ‘Celebs Go Dating’ for Lime Pictures airing on ITV Be and Channel 4, the nature programme ‘Countryfile’ for BBC Studios, documentary television series ‘24 Hours in Police Custody’ for The Garden Productions on Channel 4, ‘Race across the World’ for Studio Lambert for the BBC and ‘Taskmaster’, for Avalon on Channel 4.

Enact was advised by Womble Bond Dickinson and The Tax Advisory Partnership.