Land-based/e-training in Forestry/arboriculture.

Reference

S13479

Turnover

£0.5m to £1m

Sector(s)

Agriculture, forestry & fishing, Education, Service industries

Region(s)

UK Wide

Added

03 June 2026

Business description

Established forestry and arboriculture training provider operating across Northern England and the wider UK, delivering accredited land-based skills courses to contractors, public sector organisations, estates, utilities, and individual learners. The business holds Lantra Awards approved training and assessment centre status alongside ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification.

Training is delivered through a blended model combining structured e-learning with practical instruction in realistic, scenario-based environments, aligned to City and Guilds NPTC and Lantra Awards standards. Approximately 70 to 80 per cent of revenue is repeat, driven by ongoing compliance requirements across the sector, with no single client representing a dominant share of turnover.

The business has delivered consistent revenue growth over the past four years, reporting turnover of £557,657 and an adjusted EBITDA of £90,881 in 2025. A new owner would acquire a scalable, systemised operation with clear growth opportunities including geographic expansion, public sector tendering, further e-learning development, and expansion into advanced and specialist training areas.

The business operates with a lean, flexible structure supported by a core partnership, a stable administrative team, and a network of qualified, internally verified instructors engaged on a flexible basis to meet demand. This model keeps fixed overhead low while allowing delivery capacity to scale without disproportionate cost.

Complementary training courses operated by one of the partners runs alongside the main business, enhancing the overall training pathway available to learners and adding further revenue potential for a new owner to develop.

Highlights

• Lantra Awards approved training and assessment centre with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification, meeting the governance requirements of commercial and public sector clients.
• Blended delivery model combining structured e-learning with practical instruction, enabling scalable growth without a proportional increase in fixed overhead
• Approximately 70 to 80 per cent repeat revenue, underpinned by ongoing compliance-driven training demand across the forestry and arboriculture sectors.
• Consistent revenue growth over four years, reaching turnover of £557,657 and adjusted EBITDA of £90,881 in 2025.
• Clear and actionable growth opportunities including geographic expansion, public sector contract tendering, e-learning development, and specialist course portfolio expansion.

Financials

	Turnover (£'000)	Adjusted EBITDA (£'000)
2023 (Actual)	499,142	72,243
2024 (Actual)	493,642	104,200
2025 (Actual)	557,657	90,881

Opportunities

• Geographic expansion across the wider UK, leveraging the existing blended delivery model to reach new markets with limited additional fixed cost.
• Formalisation of a public sector tendering strategy to secure contracted, recurring revenue from local authorities, utilities, and estates, building on existing accreditations and governance credentials that already meet procurement requirements.
• Further development of the in-house e-learning platform into standalone digital courses and licensable content, enabling national reach and improved margins without a proportional increase in instructor resource.
• Expansion of the course portfolio into advanced, supervisory, and specialist training areas where demand is increasing and the number of quality-accredited providers remains limited.

Prospective purchasers

• Prospective purchasers will be required to sign an NDA.

Reason for sale

The partnership is seeking a full exit following a strategic review, recognising that the business is well-positioned for its next phase of growth and that a new owner with additional resource or a complementary operation is best placed to capitalise on that opportunity.