Home
2002
Roots in the Shackleton Group
8
Platform Investments to Date
UK & SA
Geographic Focus
100%
Our Own Capital
About Us
Independent capital, entrepreneurial roots.
Endurance Capital is an independently owned private equity investor focused on the UK mid-market and South Africa. Our roots are entrepreneurial: we grew out of the Shackleton Group, a collection of South African financial services businesses built by our founders, before expanding into direct investments in the UK and Guernsey. We are named after Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, the Endurance — a nod to our Shackleton Group legacy and the perseverance it embodies.
We form meaningful partnerships with the owners and management teams we back. Having built and run businesses ourselves, we understand what it takes to grow a company — and we support our partners through organic growth and M&A with strategic input where it adds value. With no fixed exit requirement, we provide patient capital for the long term, alongside options for liquidity events for founders and management teams when needed. Partnership and collaboration are at the core of what we do.
Our Approach
- True partnership We invest our own capital alongside owners and management, not over them.
- Patient capital No fund deadlines or fixed exit — we back businesses for the long term.
- Growth & M&A support Hands-on support for organic growth and value-accretive acquisitions.
- Flexibility on liquidity Options for liquidity events for founders and management when needed.
What We Look For
Clear criteria, quick answers
We invest from our own balance sheet, so we can give owners and advisers a fast, honest view on fit.
Situations
We provide liquidity events for owners, taking a controlling or co-controlling position and supporting the business through its next phase of growth — including succession, management buyouts, and carve-outs.
Sectors
Sector agnostic, with a focus on high-margin businesses operating in resilient markets with long-term growth potential.
Business characteristics
Businesses with sustainable margins, long-term growth potential, and consistent operating histories, run by honest, talented management teams who think like owners.
Geography
United Kingdom nationwide, with selective opportunities in South Africa.
Portfolio
Investments
A portfolio spanning children’s services, enforcement, credit management, real estate, and financial services.
Current Investments
Children’s Services
Forge Care
Forge Care is a Nuneaton-based provider of children’s residential care, delivering an evidence-based, trauma-informed service underpinned by the Sanctuary Model. Acquired by Endurance Capital in 2026.
Enforcement
ColX
Endurance entered the UK enforcement industry in 2023, acquiring three businesses from Capita plc alongside a co-investment partner to form the Omexus Group. A merger with Jacobs Enforcement followed in 2024, creating ColX — now the third largest enforcement group in the UK, operating across England, Scotland and Wales.
Credit Management
Shackleton Credit Management
Founded by Mark Lynn and Steven Main in 2002 in South Africa's nascent distressed debt industry, Shackleton Credit is today one of the country's largest buyers of distressed debt, drawing on proprietary models refined over two decades.
Real Estate
Martial Properties
A buy-and-build strategy targeting rural shopping centres across South Africa. In 2025, Endurance Capital reached an exclusive right of first refusal arrangement as part of this drive.
Past Investments
Captive Insurance
Shackleton Risk Management
Founded in 2007 in South Africa, Shackleton Risk provided niche insurance products including Professional Indemnity, Executor, Curator and Liquidation Bonds. Exited in 2024 to Safire Insurance.
Captive Insurance
Shackleton Life
Established in 2010, Shackleton Life provided life, disability and related cover to over 60,000 customers. Exited in 2024 to Capital Legacy, a subsidiary of Sanlam.
Captive Insurance
Genoa
Spun out of the group's insurance interests in 2017, Genoa grew to insure over 7,000 medical practitioners nationwide. Exited in 2024 to Lombard.
Reinsurance
Farringdon Insurance
Farringdon Insurance Company is a reinsurer based in Guernsey. Exited to FirstRand Banking Group in 2026
Our Team
The people behind Endurance
Mark Lynn
BA, LLB
An experienced businessman and Attorney, Mark co-founded the Shackleton Group, a collection of South African financial services businesses, and serves as its Executive Chairman. He is a past Chairman of the Association of Insolvency Practitioners of South Africa and has served on numerous sporting, charitable and academic boards.
Steven Main
BA, LLB, LLM, MBA
An Attorney and co-founder of the Shackleton Group, Steven has experience across litigation, insolvency, insurance and banking, having previously served as Head of Legal and Compliance at BoE Corporate Bank prior to its incorporation into Nedbank. He is CEO of the Shackleton Group and leads the Endurance Capital investment activities.
Richard Lynn
CA(SA), CFA
A Chartered Accountant and CFA charterholder, Richard completed his articles at Ernst & Young before joining the Shackleton Group, where he was MD of Shackleton Risk Management and a director of Shackleton Credit Management. At Endurance Capital, Richard works across the origination, execution and ongoing management of investments in the UK and South Africa.
Robbie Lynn
MA (Hons), CFA
A CFA charterholder, Robbie spent five years in a private debt fund arranging and executing direct lending transactions, managing more than 25 deals and helping establish two new funds. At Endurance Capital, Robbie works on the origination and execution of direct investments in the UK, including the acquisition of Forge Care, and the ongoing management of the portfolio.
Contact Us
Let's start a conversation.
Whether you're a business owner exploring a partnership or an adviser with an opportunity to share, we'd like to hear from you.
UK Office
31 Dover Street, W1S 4ND, London
SA Office
21 Richefond Circle, Umhlanga Ridge, 4319
