Yorkshire investment fund Enact has sold Realise Training Group to AQA, the UK’s leading exam board and education charity. The deal follows a period of significant expansion for the apprenticeships and skills provider, which now supports more than 18,000 learners nationwide.
Enact, part of private equity firm Endless, originally backed a management buyout of Realise in 2020, acquiring it from Interserve Group. Since then, the business has achieved a compound annual growth rate of 22% and moved from losses to earnings of £4 million in the 2024 financial year.
Under Enact’s ownership, Realise expanded through acquisitions including FW Solutions, Training Plus and Smart Energy. The company now employs more than 500 staff and delivers apprenticeships and adult skills programmes across multiple sectors such as health and social care, business services, transport, and early years education.
Paul Denvers, Partner at Enact, said: “It has been a phenomenal five years supporting Realise Training Group, the progress of the company has exceeded all our expectations. There have been numerous highlights that our partnership with the business has delivered on, from the huge rise in the number of learners Realise supports, award successes, a fantastic Ofsted report and the completion of three notable acquisitions. Headed up by the outstanding leadership of Gregg, the team at Realise has always had a focus and passion for delivering educational quality and great learner experiences, a vision which was outlined when we first met the team in 2020. It is a great example of Enact identifying and delivering complex buy-out transactions by working side by side with leadership teams, as a true partner. We wish AQA and Realise Training Group every success for the future and look forward to following the ongoing success under new ownership.”
Realise will operate as an independent subsidiary of AQA, aligning the training provider’s vocational expertise with AQA’s focus on academic qualifications. The acquisition is expected to strengthen both organisations’ positions in the education and workforce development markets while ensuring continued support for employers and learners across the UK.
Advisers on the transaction included Deloitte, Womble Bond Dickinson, KPMG, Grant Thornton, Sentio and Tax Advisory Partnership.
