Trainor acquires Distansia – the latest consolidation play in the Nordic el-safety market

Ed-Tech group, Trainor, has acquired Swedish electrical safety education company, Distansia, reinforcing its position as Scandinavia’s leading digital and blended-learning safety training provider. - Distansia represents a highly strategic acquisition for Trainor due to its scalable 100% digital offering and tangible commercial synergies with our existing Swedish operations, says Richard Kemp, Trainor’s Chief Strategy and M&A Officer.

Second Swedish acquisition

In May 2021 Trainor Group acquired Teknikutbildarna (now Trainor Sverige AB), being the first step in the group’s buy-and-build internationalisation strategy under the ownership of global impact investor, EV Private Equity.

Distansia was established in 2010 and is headquartered in Gothenburg. The company has strong relationships with several high-profile industry regulators including the Swedish Electrical Safety Agency. Distansia’s suite of education products and subject matter expertise will further strengthen the group’s value proposition to the Swedish market.

Company founder, Hans Otterberg, remains as CEO of Distansia and is enthusiastic to join Trainor and contribute to the group’s future growth journey, commenting: 

- Trainor and Distansia are organisations with a natural, complementary fit that share similar core competences, market focus and cultural values. I am excited to work alongside the Trainor management team to collectively deliver the best e-learning solutions in Sweden and beyond.

Like Trainor, Distansia has grown significantly over the last few years driven by its high course quality, regional regulatory reforms and increasing customer adoption of e-learning in Sweden. 

- Distansia has a strong brand and reputation, a lean business model and provides us direct access to new regional municipalities and blue-chip customers in Sweden. It is therefore a perfect match for Trainor as we continue to scale-up our digital business and extend the group’s geographical reach, says Richard Kemp.

Peter Svarrer, Chairman of the Board of Trainor Group, adds: 

- Our growth goals are ambitious, and it is important to us that growth is consistent with our sustainability objectives. Electrification and e-learning are two fundamental cornerstones on the road to a greener and safer society. Like owner company EV Private Equity, Trainor is also ambitious when it comes to Environmental Social and Governance (ESG), and its commitment to digital learning is an important part of reducing the environmental footprint of the training industry.

Strong organic and acquisitive growth

The number of employees across the Trainor group now exceeds 100 following the Distansia acquisition, more than double the level 12 months ago. Trainor has offices in Tønsberg (HQ), Norway and Sundsvall, Gävle, Stockholm, Nyköping and Gothenburg, Sweden.

Group CEO, Stian Martinsen, says Trainor aims to grow further by broadening the group’s digital solutions offering and expanding its international presence. He is confident that Distansia’s employees, partners and customers will benefit greatly from being part of Trainor:

- We welcome Hans and the rest of the Distansia crew to the Trainor family, and look forward to continuing our unwavering commitment to safety together, consolidating the Nordic el-safety market.

Digitalization and electrification

Trainor is owned by EV Private Equity and its employees. The group’s ambition is to raise the standard of safety training, and the goal is to grow significantly in both turnover and geographical catchment areas over the next few years.

- As an impact investor focused on advancing the technologies that will be critical to the energy transition, our investment in Trainor fits perfectly with our overall investment strategy. Trainor is well positioned right in the middle of two global megatrends – digitalization and electrification – and they have proven able to combine strong organic and acquisitive growth with improved profitability. says Partner in EV Private Equity, Tomas Hvamb.

KEY FACTS:

About EV Private Equity:

EV Private Equity is a thematic investment company that takes positions in sustainable, medium-sized technology businesses in Europe and North America. We invest in companies that are positively driven behind growth in renewable energy, electrification, and energy efficiency. EV Private Equity was founded in 2002 and is based in Stavanger with offices in Houston and Aberdeen. Through new investments, EV seeks to reduce CO2 emissions and is committed to helping to achieve the Paris Agreement's goals for global warming. www.evpe.com