15 January 2026

ROCKPOOL ANNUAL REVIEW 2025

OVERVIEW

In 2025, Rockpool deployed over £45m in equity and debt capital, adding three new portfolio companies and funding four follow‑on rounds. It was a busy year across the portfolio, with several refinancings and multiple exit processes initiated, prompting us to further strengthen our Investment Team with two new Associates.

*Average based on all 2025 exits across our portfolio for equity investors. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Following eight successful exits and over £150m of investment in the preceding three years, we were delighted to win the award for PE House of the Year (Small-Cap) at the annual Real Deals Private Equity Awards. The award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of both our portfolio company management and our Investment Team.

In addition, our latest performance data across all our private equity investments places Rockpool in the top decile for comparable UK PE firms, benchmarked against data from the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association.

GROWING THE PORTFOLIO IN 2025

In July, Rockpool backed TalarMade, a provider of medical devices and clinical services. TalarMade’s product portfolio includes a diverse range of orthotic and pressure care solutions, and the company also delivers clinical services within the NHS. This was our third recent investment in the healthcare sector, following 2024 investments in Harley Academy and Oxford Online Pharmacy.

Our second platform investment of the year was Imperial Corporate Events (“ICE”) in September. ICE specialises in delivering VIP event and travel services to corporate clients, combining premium travel, accommodation and catering, with access to prestigious sporting events, concerts, shows, and unique culinary experiences.


At year-end, we completed a significant investment into CareScribe, a fast-growing assistive technology business which designs software to enhance accessibility, productivity, and inclusivity for disabled and neurodivergent people in education and the workplace.
DELIVERING STRONG RETURNS

In February, we sold Hydralectric, a specialist manufacturer of premium valves and flexible hose solutions, to trade buyer Hydraflex, generating a net return of 3.6x for equity investors. During our investment, Hydralectric grew organically through product development and investment in manufacturing capabilities, and through M&A, acquiring complementary businesses in France and Slovenia.

We were delighted to announce the sale of MomentumABM to global professional services company Accenture in September, bringing our five-year investment in the company to a very successful conclusion. During our period of ownership, the company completed three acquisitions across the UK and the US from cash flow, and more than doubled in size.

PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS AND M&A

Rockpool’s portfolio companies continued to deliver robust growth despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, with aggregate EBITDA increasing by over 20% in 2025.

M&A remained a key value‑creation lever across the portfolio, with several companies executing buy‑and‑build strategies supported by Rockpool backing:

Communicate followed up its 2024 purchase of York Data Services with the acquisition of Macclesfield-based Blaze Networks in March, funded with equity and debt from Rockpool. Blaze enhances Communicate’s ability to deliver a fully integrated suite of IT services, including SD-WAN, SASE, cloud, backup, and disaster recovery.

In August, Harley Academy completed the acquisition of SkinViva Training, financed by further capital from Rockpool alongside management. The acquisition provides Harley with aesthetics training facilities in the North of England for the first time. Harley also commenced operations at its first North American facility in Toronto in an exciting new partnership with Canadian medtech business Prollenium.

Our software testing portfolio company 2i announced its first acquisition under Rockpool ownership in January, acquiring nFocus, the UK’s longest-established, UK- owned testing consultancy. nFocus expands 2i’s reach into the SME market. The acquisition was funded with debt provided by Rockpool.

Looking ahead, we expect several portfolio companies to complete further acquisitions in 2026, with active discussions underway across a range of potential targets.

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS

In April, we announced the promotion of Tom Coey to Partner and Investment Committee member. Since joining Rockpool in 2017, Tom has played a pivotal role in leading several successful investments, bolt-on acquisitions, and exits for the firm, including the exit of Mecsia to Synova in 2024. To support our continued deal activity, we also strengthened the Investment Team with two new Associates. James Ashton joined us from Eversley Capital, and Ryan McTigue from EOS Deal Advisory. James 


qualified as an accountant at PwC before working at Rothschild & Co, and Ryan achieved his CAANZ qualification at BDO New Zealand.
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS


As we move into 2026, Rockpool is actively working on a number of new investments and potential acquisitions for portfolio companies. While large-cap PE faces well-documented exit challenges, our area of the market remains robust, and we expect further exits in 2026.

We believe our deal-by-deal model continues to offer investors a fantastic way to access private equity and debt opportunities, and that our track record speaks for itself.

RISK WARNING

DON’T INVEST UNLESS YOU’RE PREPARED TO LOSE ALL THE MONEY YOU INVEST. THIS IS A HIGH‑RISK INVESTMENT AND YOU ARE UNLIKELY TO BE PROTECTED IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG.

When investing, your capital is at risk. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance and the value of investments can go down as well as up.