Selling your manufacturing business
A confidential, straightforward route to selling a UK manufacturing or fabrication business — to buyers who have run factories themselves.
You've spent years building a manufacturing business: winning the customers, training the people, investing in the machines and getting the quality right. Deciding to sell is a big step, and the buyer you choose will shape what happens to all of that.
INFRANOVA Capital is an operator-led investor that acquires founder-led UK industrial businesses. Our founders have backgrounds in sheet-metal manufacturing and engineering, so we understand shop-floor realities — capacity, scheduling, tooling, margins and the skills that take decades to build.
The manufacturing businesses we know best
We focus on specialist manufacturers and fabricators with real capability: the kind of firm customers come back to because it's hard to find anyone else who can do the job as well.
- Precision machining and metal fabrication
- Composites, plastics and rubber processing
- Industrial components, valves and pumps
- Specialist coatings and packaging
Who we help
We work with the owners of established, founder-led UK businesses — often people who started or inherited the company, built it over decades and now want to plan what comes next. Some want to retire completely. Some want to step back gradually. Some want a partner with capital and operating experience to take the business further than they could on their own.
What they have in common is that they care about what happens after they sell. They want their staff looked after, their customers served properly and the name above the door to mean something for years to come. That is exactly the kind of owner we want to work with.
What we look for
We keep our criteria simple and we share them openly, so you can judge quickly whether a conversation is worthwhile. If your manufacturing business doesn't fit neatly, talk to us anyway — we consider every enquiry on its merits.
- Based in the UK
- Enterprise value of roughly £2m–£10m
- 10+ years trading
- Profitable, with consistent cash generation
- A skilled workforce and loyal customers
- No single customer ideally above 15–20% of revenue
How a sale works with us
Selling a business shouldn't mean months of uncertainty before you know where you stand. We aim to give you a straight answer early, and a clear timetable after that.
- Initial screen: we'll tell you within days whether there's likely to be a fit.
- First conversation and site visit: we meet you, walk the floor and listen.
- Indicative offer: a clear view on value, explained openly, before any lengthy process.
- Due diligence: typically 4–8 weeks, run with as little disruption to the business as possible.
- Completion and handover: a structured transition, typically 6–24 months, at a pace that suits you.
What happens to your staff, customers and name
We buy businesses to build them, not to strip them. Your skilled workforce is the business, and protecting good people is central to how we create value. We don't plan to close sites or cut jobs to hit a number.
The relationships you have built with customers and suppliers are protected through the handover, and we introduce ourselves to them only when you're ready. Your business keeps its name, identity and heritage — we preserve what works and build on it. Our commitments are written down in our Owner's Charter so you can hold us to them.
What we'd do after we buy
Many good manufacturers have strong products and loyal customers but haven't had the time or capital to invest in systems and equipment. That is where we help — practical improvements such as lean manufacturing, better capacity utilisation, smarter procurement, automation where it genuinely pays back, and accreditations that open the door to higher-value work.
The aim is a stronger, more resilient business, with the same people at its heart.
Questions owners ask us.
Start a confidential conversation.
Tell us a little about your business. All conversations are strictly confidential.