GOLDMAN SACHS takes majority stake in CELNOR

Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquired a majority stake in Celnor Group, the British testing, inspection, certification and compliance business, from Inflexion, in a transaction announced on 23 October 2026. The company generated revenue of £300m. Founder and chief executive Simon Parrington and his management team reinvested alongside the new owner, and Inflexion kept a minority shareholding. Inflexion had created the group in 2023, backing Parrington to consolidate a fragmented market, and supported three acquisitions at launch followed by sixteen more within the first twelve months. By July 2026 the group had completed 49, among them Calbarrie Compliance Services, Dsafetys and Environmental Compliance, building its activity around four areas: the built environment, safety and compliance, risk management and analytical sciences. It extended beyond the United Kingdom into the United States, France and Ireland. The sector lends itself to this kind of consolidation: certification work is split among small specialist firms, each accredited for particular tests, and bringing them together lets a single provider cover the full range of checks an owner needs, while accreditation itself acts as a barrier to entry. Demand is driven by regulation, which keeps widening the obligations placed on building owners and employers. Goldman Sachs Alternatives invested to accelerate the group’s expansion in the United States and continental Europe, and to strengthen its technology, its operations and its capacity to keep acquiring. Inflexion had previously consolidated the same sector through Phenna Group, Alcumus, BES Group and Cawood Scientific.