A New Kind of Exit: Built Around Autonomy, Legacy and Real Growth

At Contollo, we’re reshaping what an exit can look like for mid-sized businesses. Too often, founders feel that selling means stepping aside, losing control or watching their life’s work be reshaped by someone else’s agenda. I don’t believe that’s the only path and it’s certainly not the right one for most of the founders I meet.

Many have grown their businesses to a strong mid-market position but hit a natural ceiling in time, skills or strategic headroom. Others want to de-risk and explore new ventures but can’t while their wealth is tied up in a single business. Some need investment in systems, people and governance but lack the capacity to build it alone. And many are driven by a deep sense of responsibility to their teams and want to ensure their business is protected, not broken apart.

Contollo exists for these founders. We are not a buyer in the traditional sense, we are a strategic home. A place where autonomy stays with the founder, where identity and culture are protected, and where growth becomes possible again. We invest without taking over. We support without replacing. And we scale businesses without stripping out the very things that made them successful.

Our own growth reflects that philosophy. Contollo is now one of the UK’s fastest scaling built-environment consultancies, backed by NorthEdge and expanding at pace through strategic acquisitions across engineering, cost consultancy and project management. We have more than 230 staff nationwide, reached a £35 million turnover within just 18 months and remain firmly on track to double in size by the end of 2026.

A critical part of this journey is investing in the next generation. Today, 9% of our workforce are apprentices, and we are committed to reaching 20% by 2028 – a significant contribution at a time when our sector faces real capacity and capability challenges.

Before joining Contollo, I spent years leading large scale integrations and organisational transformations as Chief Integration Officer at Fishawack. That experience taught me what it takes to scale complex service businesses without losing their soul. I’m bringing that same discipline and care to the built environment as we build a modern, futureready group.

Founders deserve a future they can still lead. That’s the kind of exit, and the kind of partnership, we’re creating at Contollo. We don’t buy businesses to change them. We invest so their best chapter can begin.