Enact Completes Two Acquisitions Over the Christmas Period

January 6, 2026

London, UK -- The Enact Fund, managed by private equity firm Endless, is delighted to announce the completion of two acquisitions over the Christmas period, following a busy few weeks marked by the exits of Realise Training Group and Greenray Turbine Solutions.

Enact has acquired GEO Specialty Chemicals UK Ltd. (“GEO”), a Southampton-headquartered manufacturer of specialty chemicals from its US parent CPS Performance Materials Group.

GEO operates from a 53-acre site that is home to two distinct business units with global scale and advanced expertise in alkoxylation, methacrylate chemistry and specialty silicones serving premium markets across coatings, lubricants and medical devices.

With annual revenues of c£68m, the business has a long-standing reputation for quality, service and new product development with the site’s heritage dating back to the 1950s.

GEO was considered non-core to its parent’s strategy. The investment from Enact will provide the business with the capital to invest in operations and strategic support to accelerate growth. Enact has a strong track record of supporting management teams through non-core transactions to deliver long-term value for all stakeholders.

Simon Haythornthwaite, Managing Director of GEO, added: “Despite well-documented challenging market conditions there are some exciting growth opportunities in the niche, high specialty markets we operate in. Partnering with Enact provides us with the stability and expertise needed to move onto our next chapter.”

Paul Denvers, Partner at Endless, commented: “We are delighted to welcome GEO into the Enact portfolio. We look forward to working closely with Simon and the management team to support their growth strategy and help the business fulfil its true potential.”

The acquisition of Geo was supported by Walker Morris (Legal), KPMG (Tax) and Grant Thornton.

The second acquisition by the Enact Fund is Par-Pak Europe Limited and Holfeld Plastics Limited, together trading as ‘Waddington Europe’.

Waddington Europe has been acquired from a U.S. headquartered group in a corporate carveout.

Operating from three sites across the UK and Ireland, Waddington Europe is a £66m turnover sustainable packaging specialist supplying into sectors including food, pet food, medical and industrial. Its diverse blue-chip customer base includes major supermarkets and food service providers across the UK and Europe.

Enact’s investment is accompanied by experienced packaging specialists who will join the Board to support the existing management team.

Kiran Reddy, Enact Associate Director in the Manchester who led the investment commented: “Waddington Europe has developed long-standing partnerships with key customers and suppliers. We are excited to support management with their plans to build on these relationships. I look forward to the start of 2026 as plans are finalised to support customers ahead of the peak summer trading period.”

Enact were advised by the Manchester based teams of DLA Piper (Legals), K3 Capital Group (Financials and Tax) and Kroll (Property).

Chris Cormack, Managing Partner of Enact commented “We ended 2025 on a high with the successful exits of Realise and Greenray alongside the strategic acquisitions of GEO and Waddington Europe. These investments, following the recent acquisition of the hire division from listed parent HSS Hire Group, underline the Fund’s continued focus on being a good home for corporate carveouts from larger parent groups and listed entities.”