SME News Q3 2026/ 28 Where Complexity Creates Value Nathan Winch established Winch & Co in 2010 as a boutique investment company, designed to add strategic value to businesses through integrative consolidation, delivering realisable returns with emphasis on risk management. Based in Barnsley and with a 50-strong team located at offices across the UK, Winch & Co is focused on special situations investment and advisory, assisting clients with business turnarounds, restructurings, and complex transactions. In light of Winch & Co being named our Best Private Equity Investment Firm 2026 – South Yorkshire, we spoke to Nathan to learn more about its award-winning offering. “At Winch & Co, we work with businesses that have reached a critical point,” Nathan began. “Whether that’s financial distress, operational underperformance, shareholder deadlock, succession challenges, or the need for a complete strategic reset. “Unlike many advisory firms, we don’t simply diagnose problems. We work alongside management teams, lenders, and stakeholders to implement practical solutions. That can include operational restructuring, refinancing, acquisitions, disposals, management changes, or fresh investment where appropriate.” With Winch & Co, clients have access to an expert commercial partner that is well-versed in building, acquiring, selling, and restructuring businesses, meaning its advice isn’t theory-based but is steeped in real-world experience. Its priorities lie in preserving value, protecting jobs where possible, and creating a sustainable future for every business it works with. It doesn’t seek to pursue straightforward acquisitions, having garnered a glowing reputation for mastering complicated transactions, distressed assets, restructurings, and special situations. From a corporate carve-out or an insolvency to an underperforming property or a challenging litigation-backed investment, the firm is comfortable serving clients where complexity creates value. It is actively involved in improving its clients’ operations, restructuring their businesses, professionalising management, negotiating with stakeholders, and creating value through execution, not relying on financial engineering alone. Enhancing its offering is its commitment to building strong long-term relationships, with this being much more important than achieving short-term gains. Also key within Winch & Co’s offering is creative thinking – identifying opportunities that competitors won’t have considered: transaction arbitrage, horizontal integration, infrastructure opportunities, distressed investing, unlocking hidden asset value, or structuring deals creatively to reduce capital requirements. As Nathan said, “It’s about seeing optionality where others see problems.” From there, the firm combines commercial pragmatism, hands-on execution, and integrity and transparency – indeed, choosing the practical solution that benefits all parties; making things happen, whether that requires mobilising supply chains, integrating acquisitions, managing operational turnarounds, or resolving stakeholder issues; and consistently providing full disclosure, honest communication, and maintaining credibility to ensure a trusted reputation. As a result of its exceptional delivery, clients have been feeding back on how Winch & Co’s approach is “refreshingly pragmatic”. Nathan elaborated, “We move quickly, communicate openly with stakeholders, and aren’t afraid to tackle situations others consider too complex. Many of the businesses we’ve supported have stabilised operations, restored profitability, secured investment, or achieved successful exits that may not have been possible without decisive intervention. “Ultimately, we pride ourselves on finding opportunity where others see only problems. Complexity doesn’t deter us – it is often where we create the greatest value.” This is how Winch & Co will continue on, as it looks to evolve from a traditional investment company into the go-to firm for special situations. This comes as it sees increasing opportunities to combine hands-on operational expertise with creative investment structures, helping businesses and asset owners to unlock value where it is overlooked by conventional investors. Furthermore, Winch & Co is expanding its focus alongside business turnarounds and acquisitions into infrastructure and real assets, particularly with regard to the energy transition. It believes that its commercial and problem-solving mindset can also be useful in areas such as grid-connected land, battery storage, and energy infrastructure, as the UK’s demand for power and digital infrastructure grows. “Innovation for us isn’t about technology for technology’s sake,” states Nathan. “It’s about approaching transactions differently, structuring deals creatively, and combining investment with operational expertise to produce better outcomes for businesses, investors, and stakeholders.” If, over the next five years, Winch & Co is recognised as the first port of call for owners, advisers, and lenders facing complex commercial situations, then, for Nathan and the team, this will be considered a great success. Contact: Nathan Winch Company: Winch & Co Web address: https://winchandco.com/
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