UK-based private equity company Pelican Capital has acquired a stake in Equipment Management Solutions Group Limited (EMS), backed by a senior loan from digital lender OakNorth. The transaction, announced on April 2, 2026, positions the specialist provider of reusable supply chain equipment services for accelerated international growth and technological upgrades.
Pelican Capital, known for targeting founder-led and management-owned technology and tech-enabled service businesses, focuses on facilitating ownership transitions while fueling expansion.
EMS, established in 2003, delivers highly specialized equipment management and supply chain intelligence to manufacturers and distributors across the UK, Europe, and North America.
The company excels in overseeing returnable assets such as pallets, crates, and totes, using proprietary technology to optimize performance for large multinational fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) clients.
The fresh funding from Pelican Capital will propel EMS into its next development stage.
Plans include broadening its global footprint, enhancing its advanced analytics platform, and delivering sharper operational insights that help customers pinpoint inefficiencies in complex equipment networks.
Even minor improvements in asset utilization can translate into substantial cost savings and reliability gains for clients operating in high-volume supply chains.
Anthony Francis, partner and co-founder at Pelican Capital, highlighted the strategic fit: the business stands out for its blend of sector-specific knowledge, robust technology infrastructure, and enduring client ties.
He noted strong potential to scale the data analytics capabilities further, creating value through expanded services and geographic reach.
Francis expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with EMS’s leadership under CEO Joe Hebblewhite to realize these ambitions.
Hebblewhite, in turn, emphasized the niche yet critical nature of EMS’s work.
“In this specialized corner of logistics, tiny shifts in equipment efficiency can deliver outsized financial results,” he explained.
The firm’s strength lies in merging hands-on operational expertise with granular data to give partners unprecedented visibility and predictive foresight into their supply chains.
The alliance with Pelican Capital will fast-track innovations in technology and analytics, strengthening EMS’s ability to support clients with more precise, forward-looking intelligence.
OakNorth, the entrepreneur-focused digital bank that arranged the senior loan, played a pivotal role in structuring the debt component.
Adviser Altenburg Advisory guided the financing process.
Kieran McKenzie, OakNorth’s Director of Debt Finance, praised EMS as a premium, asset-light operation with dependable recurring income streams and a vital position in global logistics.
“We are thrilled to partner with a high-caliber sponsor like Pelican Capital to back a business of this quality,” he added.
Since its launch in 2015, OakNorth has carved out a reputation for filling the lending void faced by lower mid-market companies.
The bank has extended more than $20 billion in facilities to thousands of founder-led ventures in the UK and US, helping generate over 70,000 jobs and £38 billion in broader economic impact.
Its disciplined credit approach has consistently ranked it among the world’s top-performing commercial banks.
This latest deal underscores growing investor confidence in technology solutions that modernize traditional supply chain infrastructure. For EMS, the partnership signals a clear path toward deeper market penetration and innovation, reinforcing its leadership in an increasingly data-driven logistics landscape.