BGF has completed the successful exit of Polar Technology, an engineering-led designer and manufacturer of high-performance carbon-fibre and metals, based in Oxfordshire. Polar Technology has been acquired by Trive Capital, a private equity firm, headquartered in Texas.
Founded by Mike Dewhirst and Scott Roberts in 2012, the business received an initial £10 million investment from BGF in 2021. Following this initial funding, turnover increased by 30% between 2022 and 2024, supported by expanded engineering and technological capabilities.
Headquartered in Eynsham’s Horizon Technology Park, an advanced engineering campus completed in 2019, the business has used its automotive and motorsport expertise to drive long-term value across complementary sectors, delivering particularly strong growth in the aerospace and defence market.
BGF’s value creation support also contributed to the company’s growth. Under the guidance of Non-Executive Chair Jim Sumner (appointed through BGF’s Talent Network in 2021), Polar Technology has initiated a supply chain optimisation programme and strengthened its executive team, with the appointment of Matthew Taylor as COO.
Scott Roberts, Co-Founder of Polar Technology, commented: “This exit is a brilliant result for all parties, reflecting a period of sustained innovation and market expansion, during our successful partnership with BGF. With Trive Capital’s backing, we’re now entering a new stage of growth, while staying true to our ethos as an innovative, engineering-led business. Looking ahead, we will continue the momentum we started in 2021, when BGF first invested, building on this strong footing to take advantage of new and existing markets.”
The exit was led by Partner William Gresty from BGF’s South East team, with advisory support from Kroll Investment Banking.
William Gresty, Partner at BGF, said: “Polar Technology stands out as a British manufacturing success story, driven by innovation and underpinned by a relentless focus on engineering excellence. Since our investment in 2021, we’ve worked alongside Scott, Mike and the wider team to scale the business and strengthen its position across the aerospace and defence sectors. With Trive Capital’s international expertise, Polar is well placed for its next phase of growth, and we wish the team every success, as they continue to build on these strong foundations.”
Polar Technology marks the second successful exit in 2026 for BGF, after world-leading fabric technology business Nonwovenn. These follow a string of successful exits in 2025 too, including from Monodraught and OrganOx (BGF’s largest-ever life sciences exit).
Paul Teuten, Managing Director at Kroll, commented: “We are delighted to have advised BGF, and Scott and Mike, the founders, on the successful exit of Polar to Trive Capital, a leading, US-based A&D Private Equity investor. BGF has a strong track record of successfully investing in management-owned businesses and we look forward to seeing Polar continue to thrive under Trive’s ownership. This transaction further underpins Kroll Investment Banking as a leading M&A advisor to advanced engineering companies and demonstrates again our expertise in executing cross-border transactions.”
