Browne Jacobson advises management on private equity investment in leading post-production house Evolutions

Browne Jacobson has successfully advised management on a majority investment by specialist transformational private equity investor Endless LLP, via its Enact Fund II, in Evolutions - one of the largest independent full service post production companies in the UK.

The Browne Jacobson team comprised Birmingham based private equity partner Gareth Davies and corporate associate Clare Hanna.

The investment will be used to grow Evolution’s premium post-production capabilities, including a new suite of innovative technical solutions designed specifically for remote working.

As part of the investment Jim Campbell will become Chairman and Enact’s Chris Cormack will join as a Non-Executive Director alongside the existing Evolutions management team of Simon Kanjee (CEO), Darren Musgrove (Sales Director), Owen Tyler (Technical Director), and Tim O’Brien (Creative Director).

Evolutions was formed in London in 1994 after a management buyout from ITN and opened its first regional office in Bristol in 2013. Recent projects and clients include the Channel 4 dating series ‘First Dates’, reality series ‘TOWIE’, ‘Celebs Go Dating’ nature programme ‘Countryfile’ and BBCs ‘Race across the World’.

Simon Kanjee, Evolutions CEO said: “This is an exciting new chapter for us, with the investment from Enact we are perfectly positioned to accelerate the growth of the business in this rapidly changing environment.

“The global pandemic has had a significant effect on the industry although we’ve quickly adapted by developing and delivering remote post-production solutions and workflows which have become essential for our clients.

“This investment will unlock huge potential for us, with the demand for content at an all-time high, it has arguably never been a better time to grow the Evolutions business, and we look forward to working with Chris, Jim, and the Enact team on doing just that.”

Gareth Davies added: “We advised Evolutions on its acquisition of Bristol based Big Bang Post Production Ltd so we are delighted to have advised the management team again in securing a significant investment enabling it to grow existing and new income streams whilst consolidating its reputation for creative and technical excellence. This transaction further demonstrates our management advisory credentials in the PE space.”