Charlie Tanner
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Strategy, acquisition origination, valuation, financing, transaction structure and front-end deal execution.
Family-owned private investment firm · long-term acquirers
Your business has a history.
We are interested in what comes next.
CLASC Holdings acquires established British businesses from owners looking for the right next home — not simply the highest bidder.
For business ownersWhy we might be the right next owner →
For brokers & advisersSee our search criteria →
For private capitalHow we structure capital →
The next owner matters.
You may have spent ten, twenty or thirty years building the business. We do not think that should be reduced to a spreadsheet and an exit multiple.
We call our approach legacy acquisition. It means understanding what made the company valuable in the first place, protecting the parts that deserve to remain, supporting the people already inside it and giving the business the time to keep compounding under long-term ownership.
01
We buy to own, not to flip.
Our intended ownership horizon is measured in decades. We are not working towards a five-year fund exit.
02
Your business keeps its identity.
Companies remain distinct operating businesses. We do not need to erase the name, culture or reputation that made them good.
03
The transition is shaped around the owner.
Stay involved, step away gradually or make a clean transition. The right structure depends on the business and the people.
04
We strengthen before we change.
We are interested in management, reporting, systems, people and organic growth — not stripping a good company back for a short-term IRR.
“We want a seller to feel that the business they built is going somewhere — not simply being sold to someone.”
Experience matters when you are handing over a business.
Charlie’s experience as a principal acquirer and owner is deliberately separated from his advisory and brokerage experience. Both are relevant, but they are not the same thing.
Principal experience
As an owner, buyer and seller.
6Acquisitions completed as principal
5Personal exits from owned businesses
This is the experience that informs how CLASC thinks about ownership, risk, due diligence, transition and life after completion.
Advisory experience
Across the wider M&A market.
36+Buy-side and sell-side transactions
£75m+Transaction value through brokerage and advisory activity
Advisory figures are shown separately and do not represent CLASC principal acquisition activity.
What we are looking for
Established businesses worth preserving — and worth building on.
Our search is broad across seven sectors, but the underlying profile is consistent: a proven company with real customers, real cash generation, good foundations and an owner considering what comes next.
Revenue£1m–£15mTypical core range
Profitability£250k+Preferred EBITDA / operating profit
Trading history10+ yearsEstablished preferred
GeographyEnglandPrimary acquisition focus
Seven sectors.
One ownership philosophy.
Click a sector for a little more context. The exact business matters more than forcing every opportunity into a rigid template.
01
Automotive & Transport+
MOT, servicing, garages, recovery, tyres, dealerships and established transport-related operators.
02
Construction & Built Environment+
Specialist contractors, maintenance, building services and established operational businesses serving the built environment.
03
Aesthetics & Beauty+
Established clinics, salons, spas and service-led businesses with strong local reputations and repeat customer bases.
04
Commercial Cleaning & Facilities+
B2B cleaning, facilities support and recurring contract-led service businesses.
05
Engineering & Manufacturing+
Specialist engineering, manufacturing and technical companies with embedded know-how and established customer relationships.
06
Education & Training+
Commercial training providers, academies and established education businesses with repeatable delivery and recognised expertise.
07
Waste & Environmental+
Waste, recycling, environmental and resource-management businesses with tangible operational capability.
For brokers & advisers
If it fits, send it directly.
We welcome introductions from brokers, accountants, corporate finance advisers and business owners themselves.
Private capital
Private capital. Fixed-return structures. Deal by deal.
We prefer to build long-term relationships with private capital providers who want to deploy into established British businesses alongside a family-owned acquirer.
CLASC uses private capital alongside appropriate commercial funding. Rather than offering passive equity, we structure private capital as lending with an agreed fixed return and term for the specific acquisition. The exact structure depends on the deal.
Specific acquisitionsOpportunities are considered deal by deal rather than through a blind pool.
Fixed-return lendingReturn, term and security are agreed for the individual transaction.
Repeat relationshipsOur preference is to work with aligned capital partners over the long term.
The people behind CLASC
Family-owned. Founder-led. Supported by experience.
Charlie and Sofia are Co-Founders and Managing Partners. Charlie leads strategy, acquisitions and finance; Sofia leads integration, operations and people after completion. Around them sits a deliberately small group of experienced advisers and functional leaders.
ST
Sofia Tanner
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Integration, operations, people, implementation and the post-acquisition transition from completion onwards.
01–02
Two Mentors
Experienced perspective, strategic challenge and trusted guidance around the founders.
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03
Board Adviser
Independent board-level support around governance, judgement and the development of the wider group.
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04
Group CFO
Financial leadership, reporting, controls, modelling, funding and group oversight.
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05
Group HR Director
People, culture, structure and leadership support across acquired businesses.
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How CLASC is structured
One long-term owner. Separate businesses beneath it.
Each company we acquire remains its own operating business and brand. CLASC provides ownership, strategic direction and group-level capability where it adds value without turning every business into the same company.
Charlie & Sofia Tanner · Family controlled
CLASC Holdings
Operating BusinessIndependent brand
Operating BusinessIndependent brand
Operating BusinessIndependent brand
A private first conversation
Thinking about what comes next for your business?
You do not need to be formally on the market. A first conversation can simply be about your business, your priorities and whether CLASC feels like the right kind of next owner.