Confidential · For business owners · UK & EU
Neocore Holdings buys established, profitable businesses in the UK and the EU and owns them for the long term. Your name, your people and your customers carry on. You deal directly with the decision-maker, in confidence.
Watch the overview
Who we are, what we look for and the seven steps from first call to completion.
Who we are
A principal buyer of profitable, owner-managed businesses, built to keep, not to flip.
Neocore Holdings buys established UK and EU companies with a strong reputation, a capable team and loyal customers, then owns and runs them for the long term.
Selling is about more than a price. It is about what happens to the people, the customers and the name you spent years building. We buy a small number of well-run businesses and look after them properly.
What happens after the sale
We are the buyer, not an intermediary. Every business we acquire, we intend to keep.
Outright, or a majority stake if you want to stay involved. Property the business owns can be included.
We take full responsibility as owners and work hands-on alongside the team already in place.
We invest for the long term: better operations, disciplined finances and steady growth. No planned resale.
What we look for
If your business looks roughly like this, we would like to hear from you. If it is close but not exact, get in touch anyway. We judge each business on its merits.
Businesses based and trading in the United Kingdom or a European Union country.
Big enough to be established, small enough that the owner still knows every customer.
Consistently profitable, with a track record you can show in your accounts.
Enough history for us to understand the business and give you a firm answer quickly.
Retirement, succession or simply the next chapter. We shape the handover around you.
A capable team and loyal customers. They are the reason we buy.
Sectors we focus on
The sector matters less than the business. Across all eight, we look for companies that are established and profitable, still run by their owner, with customers who come back year after year, a skilled team that knows the work, and services their customers cannot do without. Those are the businesses that do well under a long-term owner.
Precision engineering, metal fabrication, production and industrial automation, including controls and systems integration. Businesses with specialist equipment, hard-won know-how and long-standing customers. Steady ownership lets them keep investing in people and plant rather than chasing a quick return.
Haulage, freight forwarding, last-mile delivery, warehousing and storage. Businesses built on reliable service and contracts that renew. A long-term owner can invest in fleet, sites and systems at the pace the business needs.
Specialist subcontractors, mechanical and electrical (M&E) contractors, fit-out and the business services that projects rely on. Firms with a skilled workforce and clients who return. We value the reputation and safety record that win the next job, and we protect them.
Building maintenance, cleaning, security, grounds care and integrated facilities services, delivered under repeat contracts. Companies their customers rely on every week, not once. Recurring work and loyal clients are exactly what a long-term owner should look after.
Specialist advisory firms, engineering and project consultancies, and training providers. Businesses whose value sits in their people and their client relationships. We keep the team, the name and the way of working that clients trust.
Waste collection, recycling, remediation and environmental compliance. Essential, regulated services with long customer relationships. Demand is long-term, which suits an owner who intends to stay.
Engineering, maintenance and support services for railways, ports, marine operators and airports. Specialist, safety-critical work with long-standing customers and framework contracts. A long-term owner can invest in people, equipment and accreditations at the pace the work needs.
Quarrying, aggregates and mineral processing, and the engineering, inspection, maintenance and supply services that mining, oil and gas operations depend on. Specialist, safety-critical businesses with skilled crews, hard-won permits and repeat customers. Steady ownership suits work that is planned in years, not quarters.
Not on the list? The right business matters more to us than the sector label.
Not sure if you fit? Ask us in confidence.Our commitment to you
Every conversation is confidential, from the first call to completion. You keep your own accountant, lawyer and adviser throughout.
Your company keeps its name, identity, culture and the reputation you built.
We intend to keep the team that built the business. Customer and supplier relationships carry on as before.
A clear, confidential process with as little disruption to daily operations as possible.
You deal directly with a principal, the person who makes the decision. No layers of intermediaries.
A firm yes or no within 20 working days of seeing three years of accounts, set out in Heads of Terms.
You keep your own accountant, lawyer and adviser at every stage. Bring them to the first call if you like.
Your options
We prefer to buy shares, so contracts, licences and staff stay exactly where they are.
From first call to completion
Indicative timings. It moves as quickly as information is shared, and as slowly as you need it to.
A confidential first conversation with us. We listen, and tell you honestly whether we are the right buyer.
A confidentiality agreement is signed before anything is shared.
In person, at the business, so we understand how it really works.
Your accountant shares the numbers, including three years of accounts, and we review them.
Price and structure in writing, including how it is paid. This is your clear yes or no, within 20 working days of seeing your accounts.
Our advisers review the detail while the contracts are drafted in parallel.
The sale completes and the handover begins, on the terms agreed with you.
Nothing is shared before an NDA, and your staff hear only when you are ready.
The sale agreement is drafted alongside due diligence, not after it.
Indicative timing, depending on how quickly data is shared. If you want a slower, phased exit, we adjust.
Deal team
Every discipline a sale needs is already engaged: legal, accounting, tax and three strands of specialist due diligence. For you, that means a thorough process that still moves quickly, a structure that is sound from the first draft, and no surprises late in the deal.
A clear sale agreement, so what is agreed is what you receive.
Financial due diligence and deal structuring grounded in your real numbers, not assumptions.
A structure that works for both sides from the start, not one reworked at the last minute.
Advisers who take the time to understand your market and your customers, rather than second-guess them.
A review that respects how the business actually runs and builds on what already works.
Your people and their terms protected, so the team that built the business is looked after.
Adviser names and references are shared under NDA.
Where we are today
Holding structure, process and due diligence framework in place.
Legal, accounting, tax and due diligence specialists, engaged and ready for the first transaction.
No completed acquisitions yet. We are ready to begin the first with the right owner.
Insights
Short, practical guides for owners thinking about what comes next for the business they built.
Thinking of retiring? A plain guide to selling your business in the UK or EU: timing, preparation, buyer types, tax advice and keeping it confidential.
Read the guideNo family member to take over? Trade sale, MBO, private equity or a long-term buyer: an honest look at the pros and cons of each succession route.
Read the guideEBITDA, customer concentration, management depth and due diligence: what buyers check before offering for your company, and how to prepare.
Read the guideBefore anything else
Anything else? Ask us directly. There are no silly questions when it comes to selling the business you built.
We intend to keep the people who built it and honour their terms. Any change is discussed with you first.
In most cases, yes. The name and brand are part of what we are buying, not something to replace.
Only that the service carries on. You decide with us how and when they are told.
Nobody, until you decide. An NDA is signed before any information is shared.
A short call, one meeting, then your accountant shares the data. We aim to complete in 8 to 16 weeks.
The price and how it is paid are set out in writing at Heads of Terms, before due diligence starts.
No. We are a principal buyer. There is no fund life and no three-year flip. We buy to keep.
That is up to you. You can step back once the handover is complete, keep a minority stake, or stay on for an agreed period while the team settles.
Not yet, and we say so plainly. Our deal team is in place and ready for our first acquisition.
Yes. We buy in both the UK and the EU, with the same approach and the same commitments. Información en español.
We work in English. If your documents are in Spanish, we translate them, and we can bring an interpreter to our meetings if you would like one.
Next step
A first call takes 30 minutes and commits you to nothing. We will listen, tell you honestly whether we are the right buyer and, if we are, explain exactly how we would do it. Bring your adviser if you have one.