Kindertons

Kindertons was founded in 1993 and by 2012, the business was operating from 11 depots across the UK, with a fleet of more than 2,000 vehicles.

As the business continued to see increased demand for its services, founder Shaun Ellison had ambitious expansion plans. He started to look for an outside investor with a track record of successfully developing and expanding business support services companies. He was also looking for an investment partner to help him with acquisitions in a fragmented market characterised by a large number of small players.

In 2013, Sovereign backed the management team to grow the business both organically and through carefully selected acquisitions.

Introduced a new Chair, CEO and Finance Director to bolster the board and enable smooth succession planning

Completed four strategic acquisitions to diversify the service offering: motorbike specialist Plantec in 2013, taxi credit hire expert Sovereign Automotive in 2016, niche credit hire provider Platinum Assistance in 2017, and specialist accident management provider Crusader Assistance in 2018

Developed the Group to become a full-service provider of accident management solutions through its five group companies and other affiliations nationwide

More than doubled its fleet to 5,300 vehicles with a particular focus on higher-margin prestige and specialist vehicles, 4x4s, taxis and motorbikes

More than doubled the number of employees from 450 to over 1,000

With Sovereign's support, the business became one of the largest credit hire organisations in the UK, managing the full claims process on behalf of insurers, insurance brokers, motor dealers, garages and bodyshops. This was as well as providing replacement vehicles and managing the recovery, repair and storage of damaged vehicles.

The company was sold in May 2018 to ExamWorks, a market-leading service provider to the insurance, legal and healthcare sectors backed by Leonard Green & Partners.