Alchemist

Who owns Alchemist?

Alchemist was owned by Rockpool Investments through Rockpool Investments (Evergreen) (2011 vintage) from 2018 to 2024, exited via Secondary.

Buyer identity available on Pro.

Hand-verified · updated 2026-06-30

About Alchemist

Alchemist is a United Kingdom learning and development company that designs and delivers blended, multi-modal corporate training to a blue-chip and public-sector client base, combining experiential and immersive techniques with a proprietary technology platform. Its programmes span leadership and management development, sales enablement, change management, professional development and early-careers training, delivered through simulations, coaching tools, digital learning and trained actors. The business positions itself at the experiential end of the corporate L&D market, drawing on a track record the company describes as spanning roughly three decades and a facilitator and actor network numbering in the hundreds. It works with global manufacturers, FMCG groups, retailers, banks and technology firms.

Ownership journey

Alchemist was formed in 2022 through the consolidation of two established UK training businesses, Interact, an experiential-learning specialist, and Apex Training and Development, a sales and negotiation training company, under a single brand. The platform was assembled by Rockpool Investments, which in 2018 provided equity and mezzanine funding to back a management buy-in of Interact, then followed in 2019 with further investment to fund the acquisition of Apex. Rockpool, an evergreen investor, held its majority position through the buy-and-build and the 2022 rebrand. It exited in 2024 via a secondary transaction, retaining a minority position alongside management.

Under PE ownership

Under Rockpool's ownership Alchemist executed a buy-and-build that turned two separate training companies into a single integrated learning-and-development platform, unifying Interact's experiential methods and Apex's sales and negotiation training under one brand and technology stack. The company invested in its proprietary learning platform and broadened its offering across leadership, sales, change management and early-careers programmes for corporate and public-sector clients, expanding its global leadership and sales training reach. Over the ownership period the business more than tripled its EBITDA, according to the sponsor, on the back of sustained organic growth. That trajectory set the basis for the 2024 secondary transaction.