Evolutions secures investment from specialist SME fund

Tuesday February 2, 2021

Cash injection into post-production house to support growth

Evolutions, one of the UK’s leading independent post-production facilities, has announced specialist SME investment firm, Enact, as a major investor.

Tony Wright and Ben Stanyon in our Restructuring Advisory team led the sale, which sees Enact 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. Further support was also provided by our Debt Advisory team to secure an invoice discounting facility.

The partnership between Evolutions and Enact will now 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.

Under the terms of the deal, 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. Jim Campbell steps into the role of Chairman and Enact’s Chris Cormack will hold the position of Non-Executive Director.

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 I’d like to thank the team at FRP for their support and advice in getting this deal across the line.”

Tony Wright, Restructuring Advisory Partner at FRP, added: “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.”

Ben Stanyon, Restructuring Advisory Director at FRP, added: “Enact is a specialist SME fund and this deal not only secures a significant cash injection for the business to drive growth, it cements its position as one of the pre-eminent post-production houses in the British TV industry.”

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.