Sovereign makes fifth bolt-on in a month

Sovereign Capital has not slowed its current buy-and-build strategy with the bolt-on acquisition of Triangle Training , a Midlands-based childcare training provider, for Employability and Skills Group.

Triangle Training has offered nursery care apprenticeships since 1999 and has over 60 staff in centres in Birmingham, Northampton, Wolverhampton, Telford, Leicester and Nottingham.

The acquisition is the latest for newly-formed Employability and Skills Group, created last month from prior investments Sencia, STL and Orient Gold. The combined business has a turnover of £25m and more than 500 staff.

It is also Sovereign’s fifth bolt-on acquisition in the last month, following Dependable Services for LPM, Walmotts for Kinetics, Positive Lifestyles for Alkare and the initial creation of ESG. Sovereign has also recently sold Complete Group to Claimar Care Group for £33m and exited CVC Group through a £105.7m flotation on AIM.

Andrew Hayden, managing partner at Sovereign, recently told TMN that the stacking up of deals was largely a coincidence, pointing out that many of the deals have been months and even years in the making. “It’s just that, like buses, several tend to come along at once,” he said, adding that the firm had not been “slacking” of late.