Knovia

The UK vocational training market is highly fragmented, with thousands of small providers delivering apprenticeships and professional qualifications. Sovereign identified an opportunity to build a leading national provider focused on high-growth sectors experiencing strong demand driven by skills shortages and government support for apprenticeships.

Our relationship with Knovia began through Paragon Skills, a care sector apprenticeship provider led by CEO Mark Botha and chaired by Heather Frankham, a seasoned entrepreneur Sovereign had previously partnered with through our investment in apprenticeship provider Lifetime. Under Mark's leadership, Paragon delivered strong financial and operational performance while steadily increasing market share.

In April 2022, we backed Mark and the management team with fresh capital to pursue an ambitious Buy & Build strategy focused on the growing care and education markets.

In September 2023, Paragon Skills acquired Tempdent, the UK's leading dental nurse training provider, and created the Knovia Group identity. The group subsequently acquired Babington, a top provider of professional services training, and launched Shaping Lives, specialising in early years education programmes. These strategic moves have positioned Knovia as one of the top three providers in its core standards for both market share and qualification achievement rates.

Beyond Buy & Build, Sovereign has supported significant operational improvements including technology investments to enhance learner engagement, development of a unified brand identity, and ambitious ESG commitments including a target to achieve net carbon zero by 2026.

Today, Knovia is one of the UK's largest vocational training providers. In 2025, the group trained over 18,200 people and partnered with more than 9,000 employers.

Under Mark’s leadership, Knovia remains focused on becoming the UK's premier provider of healthcare and education training, benefiting from strong market tailwinds including workforce challenges and increasing demand for professional skills development.