Sector Focus
Specialist Manufacturing & Fabrication
Capable British makers with strong products and loyal customers, ready for investment in systems and equipment.
Why this sector
Why we invest in specialist manufacturing & fabrication.
Manufacturing remains one of Britain's major productive industries, and supply-chain resilience and reshoring are increasing demand for capable UK manufacturers.
Many of these businesses have strong products and loyal customers but have been under-invested in systems and equipment.
“Manufacturing represented approximately 8.6% of UK GVA in 2024”
“Around 30% of platers are aged over 60, compared with around 15% of the wider industry workforce”
What we look for
- Precision machining and metal fabrication
- Composites, plastics and rubber processing
- Industrial components, valves and pumps
- Specialist coatings and packaging
- 10+ years trading
- Skilled workforces and hard-to-replicate capability
Where we add value
- Lean manufacturing (5S, Kaizen, value stream mapping)
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness and capacity utilisation
- Automation and CNC where economically justified
- Procurement
- Accreditations such as AS9100 and ISO 13485
Typical situations
- Owner retirement
- Businesses running well below capacity
- Under-priced products
- Buy-and-build in fragmented niches