Backing specialist independent training businesses.
Skillmark is building a long-term group of training businesses, run by the specialists who know the work. If you own one, we'd like to talk.
Get in touchWhat we offer
Two jobs.
We take the second one.
Running a training business is two jobs: the training, and everything around it. Join the group and the second one is ours.
What stays yours
- The name and the reputation.
- The trainers and the team.
- The customers and the relationships.
- What is taught, and how.
What the group takes on
- Finance, invoicing and credit control.
- Insurance, compliance and the paperwork behind approvals.
- Booking, renewal and certificate systems.
- Recruiting and developing trainers, and cover when someone is away.
- National employers who want one provider across their sites.
- Investment in courses, kit and premises where there is demand.
Two ways to join
If you have built an exceptional training business and are starting to think about what comes next, there are two ways to join.
Stay and build.
Sell part of the business, keep running it, and hold a stake alongside us with a share in the wider group. You carry on doing the work you are good at, with less of the work that gets in the way. As the group grows, you grow with it.
Hand over.
Sell the whole business and step back at a pace that suits you. We agree the handover with you up front, and we buy to keep: the business carries on under its own name, with its own people.
In both cases Skillmark takes a majority stake.
What we look for
We look for profitable, cash generative and growing specialist training businesses across the UK, in the following sectors.
01
Plant, forklift and lifting
02
Access and working at height
03
Confined space and rescue
04
First aid, health and safety
05
Site safety and supervision
06
Asbestos and fire
07
Energy, wind and renewables
08
Aviation and other regulated technical training
How it works
From first conversation to completion.
-
1
A first conversation.
You get in touch and we talk, in confidence, about the business and what you want from the next few years. No obligation on either side.
-
2
Understanding the financials.
If we both want to go further, we ask for your accounts and management information and take the time to understand how the business makes its money. We tell you promptly whether we can make an offer.
-
3
An offer.
In writing: price, structure, and what it means for you and your team. Something you can take to your accountant or solicitor and discuss properly.
-
4
Due diligence and completion.
Our advisers verify what we have been told, and yours do the same with us. Then we complete, on a timetable that suits the business.
-
5
Completion day.
The business trades as it did the day before, under its own name, with its own people.
Questions
Questions owners ask.
Do I have to sell the whole business?
No. We like exceptional owners who want to be rewarded for what they have built, take some cash now, and keep running their business as part of a bigger group, sharing in its growth. If you would rather sell outright and step back, that works too. In both cases Skillmark takes a majority stake.
I want to step back or retire. Who runs the business?
We agree a handover period and a transition plan with you up front, before anything is signed. Finding the right person to take over is something we help with, from a network of experienced operators we know and trust, and the handover runs at the pace you set.
What happens to the name, the trainers and the customers?
They stay. The business keeps its name and its approvals, your trainers keep teaching, and your customers deal with the people they already know. What we add sits behind that, not in front of it.
What size of business are you looking for?
We typically look for businesses with revenue of at least GBP 1 million, profitable and growing. If you are close to that, it is still worth a conversation.
I'm not ready to sell, but maybe in six, twelve or twenty-four months. Is it still worth talking?
Yes. Most owners want to understand their options well before they act, and the best conversations start early. Talking now commits you to nothing.
How long does it take?
From first conversation to completion, usually a few months. The pace is set by you, your advisers and the due diligence.
Will my staff or customers know we are talking?
Not until you decide they should. Every conversation is in confidence, and nothing is announced without your agreement.
Can I deal with you through my adviser?
Yes. We are happy to work through your accountant, broker or solicitor from the first conversation.
Who is behind Skillmark?
Syskon Capital, a UK holding company established to own services businesses for the long term.
Get in touch
In confidence, without obligation.
If you own a training business and are thinking about what comes next, we would like to hear from you. Every conversation is in confidence and without obligation.
hello@skillmark.co.uk