Makematic

Who owns Makematic?

Makematic was owned by Cordovan Capital Management through Cordovan Capital Partners II LP (2021 vintage) from 2019 to 2026, exited via Trade Sale.

Buyer identity available on Pro.

Hand-verified · updated 2026-07-08

About Makematic

Makematic is a United Kingdom educational media company, headquartered in Northern Ireland with operations in Derry and Belfast, that produces and licenses curriculum-aligned video content for students, teachers and professional learners. The studio combines documentary and animation production with in-house educational research, and it distributes its work both through bespoke commissions and a growing catalogue that its own site describes as more than 2,300 original educational videos available for licensing. It positions itself as a specialist in history and humanities across K-12 and professional learning, working with world-leading brands, publishers and not-for-profits including the Smithsonian, BBC, PBS, Adobe, Amazon, Khan Academy, Pearson, Scholastic and Crayola. Alongside its production business it operates platform products, including ClassSpark, aimed at delivering short-form educational content directly to classrooms and homes.

Ownership journey

Makematic was founded in 2016 in Northern Ireland by Catherine Davies and Mark Nagurski on the idea that brands and institutions could engage education more usefully through short, high-quality video. On 13 March 2019 the company raised a GBP 1 million seed round led by Cordovan Capital Management, investing through Cordovan Capital Partners II, to expand sales and marketing and to launch a video-on-demand platform for educators and parents. Cordovan remained the equity backer through the pandemic period, during which the business also drew a GBP 200,000 Ulster Bank facility under the government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme to fund its licensing platform and content production. Cordovan exited its position in 2026 via a trade sale.

Under PE ownership

The 2019 seed capital was earmarked for commercial expansion and technology, and under Cordovan's ownership Makematic broadened from bespoke commissions into a scalable licensing and platform model. The company built an automated video-licensing platform and, following the 2020 shift to remote and digital learning, reported a step-up in bookings and new clients, guiding at the time to a tripling of annual licensing revenue in the subsequent financial year. Headcount grew from around 20 employees at the time of the seed round toward a larger multi-department team spanning production, animation, post-production and education research, and the licensing catalogue expanded to more than 2,300 titles. Its client roster deepened across major museums, publishers and consumer brands, and the business continued to add platform initiatives such as ClassSpark before the sponsor's 2026 exit.