Year in Review 2024-25

Aug 2024

FMC Secures Funding from Santander

FMC secured a funding package from Santander to support their growth plans. The transaction provides the UK’s leading dental communications company with an additional debt facility, allowing them to expand their offering to the dental profession and execute on the next phase of growth.

Sep 2024

Coniston Makes Two New Hires and Announces Two Promotions

Claire Stapleton joined Coniston as Operations Manager and brings four years of Operations experience to the role. She joins from Knight Frank, where she spent three years working closely with the Head of Project and Building Consultancy.

Hayden Thomas joined Coniston as an intern in January 2025 and was appointed as an Analyst in April 2025. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Sheffield in 2021 and holds a Master’s in Finance from University College London. Hayden is the third member of the team to have completed our internship programme.

Alfred Chambers joined Coniston in October 2021 as a Principal and has worked on several transactions including our investment into Equity Networks in March 2024. Josh Henshaw joined Coniston in June 2021 as a Principal and worked on our investment into Verity RI. He continues to work closely with the management team at Verity RI on their growth strategy post-investment. Both were promoted to Director in September 2024.

Sep 2024

Equity Networks Expands Market Reach with Create IT Acquisition

Equity Networks acquired Create IT, an IT Managed Services Provider based in Newbury. Create IT provides managed IT support and cloud services, while maintaining a focus on cyber security for its customers.

The acquisition adds to Equity Networks as it looks to scale through acquisition whilst ensuring it delivers excellent customer service.

Oct 2024

CRC Secures Funding Facility from Triple Point Private Credit

The Client Relationship Consultancy secured a funding package from Triple Point Private Credit, a leading provider of private credit solutions. The transaction provides CRC with a debt facility to support product development and entry into new verticals.

Oct 2024

Equity Networks Secures Funding Facility from Triple Point Private Credit

Equity Networks secured a seven-figure funding facility from Triple Point Private Credit. The transaction provides Equity Networks with funds to complete further acquisitions and support their ongoing buy and build strategy.

Dec 2024

MWA Secures a £7.5m Funding Facility from Frontier Development Capital

MWA, the national IFA buy and build platform secured a £7.5m funding package from Frontier Development Capital. The transaction provides MWA with a long-term debt facility to help fund further acquisitions and support their growth strategy.

Jan 2025

CRC Rebrands to Verity RI

Coniston backed Client Relationship Consultancy (CRC) has rebranded to Verity Relationship Intelligence (Verity RI).

Since its inception in 2004, CRC has pioneered relationship intelligence, helping global clients across advertising, manufacturing and financial services improve customer engagement, mitigate churn and drive sustained growth.

Verity RI’s launch offers an advanced client platform that supports how businesses manage and strengthen customer connections. The platform combines survey data, behavioural analytics and AI to empower teams with real time actionable insights.

Feb 2025

Equity Networks Broadens Market Presence with M2 Acquisition

Equity Networks has acquired M2, an IT Managed Services Provider based in Horsham. This was Equity Networks third acquisition since partnering with Coniston and forms part of its ongoing Buy & Build strategy.

M2 focus on providing businesses with tailored IT solutions including managed IT support, Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure services across London and the South-East. The integration of their products and services will be a great benefit to both customer groups and will positively enhance the overall customer experience.

Apr 2025

FMC Secures £4m Growth Capital Round and Acquires Xcelerator Dental

FMC has secured a £4m growth capital round from a consortium including Barry Lanesman. Lanesman is a dental industry veteran who successfully led the Dentex group through a period of rapid expansion, growing it from startup to 175 practices within six years before its merger with Portman Group in 2023. This transaction provides FMC with funds to support their acquisition plans and expansion into new verticals.

Lanesman has joined the board of FMC as a non-executive director. Two of his former Dentex colleagues, Amy Holdsworth and Eloise Ford have also chosen to join the group as Practice Services Director and Marketing Director.

FMC has also acquired a majority stake in Xcelerator Dental, a specialist provider of growth marketing services for dental practices across the UK.

Xcelerator Dental offers bespoke, results-driven marketing solutions that deliver sustainable growth for dental practices through the use of an integrated, multichannel approach that ensures practices receive the best return on their marketing efforts. Xcelerator Dental has built its reputation on delivering not just lead generation but full-funnel marketing strategies that help practices turn interest into long-term patient relationships.