Apax Funds make strategic investment in Sedex to accelerate impact, visibility and risk management across
global supply chains
- Investment reflects the growing importance of robust, data-driven supply chain risk management for businesses globally.
- Apax to support Sedex’s expansion across markets, sectors and product capability as supply chain scrutiny intensifies globally.
- Membership organisation SHL will set up a charitable foundation to further advance its original mission.
- Existing minority investor LDC exits following a transformational three-year partnership.
[8 May 2026] — Funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) have reached a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Sedex Information Exchange Ltd (SIEL/”Sedex”/”the Company”) – a global leader in supply chain risk management solutions – from Sedex Holdings Ltd (“SHL”), a membership organisation. SHL will retain a shareholding in SIEL under a new name, SHL Membership Ltd (SHLM).
The transaction marks a successful exit for LDC, the Company’s existing minority investor, whose 2023 investment helped Sedex evolve its data Platform, assessment tools and other solutions, supporting a more than doubling of revenue from 2022-2025.
Sedex was founded to make global supply chains more ethical and sustainable – to protect workers, reduce risk and drive lasting improvement across the industries and geographies that need it most. That purpose remains as important today as it was when the Company was first established in 2004. SHLM’s decision to retain a significant minority stake reflects its confidence that Sedex’s founding values will be strengthened under the Apax Funds’ ownership.
With LDC’s support, Sedex has implemented major initiatives, new products and feature enhancements for multi-tier supply chain visibility, site-level data, risk management and continuous improvement. These include a £20 million upgrade to the Sedex Platform, new supplier assessment tools and the launch of SMETA 7.0 – the most comprehensive evolution of the audit methodology in years.
Sedex also expanded its geographic footprint across key markets including the US, APAC and Europe, while launching a number of new product capabilities. Sedex now has 100,000 customers in 180 countries across 35 sectors including consumer goods, retail, and food and beverage, reflecting its importance as mission-critical infrastructure for enterprises to operate their supply chains more efficiently, resiliently and responsibly.
With supply chains under increasing scrutiny from regulators, investors and consumers, the investment will enable Sedex to further scale its Platform and assessment capabilities to enable deeper visibility and more effective risk management for the benefit of its customers and the broader supply chain ecosystem. It will do so by deepening penetration in core fast-moving consumer goods and retail markets, expanding into new sectors and geographies, broadening the product to cover a wider range of risk factors and deepening audit intelligence.
SHLM will continue to serve its founding mission of improving labour, environmental and other corporate responsibility practices in supply chains. It will use its net proceeds to continue to improve supply chain conditions globally, creating a charitable trust to progress targeted philanthropic investment in relevant initiatives. Upon completion, SHLM will actively engage and consult with its members to shape its activities.
Jon Hancock, CEO of Sedex, said:
“Sedex has developed a uniquely powerful offering that equips companies around the world with the tools to manage risk, demonstrate improvement and drive responsible practices across the tiers, regions and facilities of complex supply chains. This investment enables us to further build on that foundation, strengthening our strategic partnership with customers, deepening our data capabilities and expanding our global reach, so we can better support customers in delivering responsible, resilient supply chains at scale.”
Steven Esom, Chair of the SHLM Board, said:
“For over 20 years, we have brought our member businesses together to improve conditions across global supply chains, creating a shared approach that drives transparency, accountability and continuous improvement. We are excited for the next phase of our journey and look forward to sharing more with our members upon completion of the agreement process.”
Dan Gluckman, Investment Director at LDC, added:
“Sedex’s journey over the past three years has been exceptional. Jon and his team have built a genuinely market-leading platform underpinned by unmatched site-level data, while expanding their global footprint and proving the commercial viability of supply chain risk management at scale. We’re proud to have backed management through this period of significant growth and innovation, and wish the business all the best in its new partnership with Apax.”
Anders Meyerhoff, Partner, and Thomas Crewe, Principal at Apax, said:
“Sedex helps make supply chains more ethical, transparent and safe for the workers within them. That mission sits at the heart of why this is so compelling to us, and we see a genuine opportunity to deliver both strong returns and measurable, lasting impact.”
Edward Donkor, Partner at Apax, added:
“We have long admired Sedex, and we look forward to partnering with the team to support the Company’s continued growth and to further strengthening the mission that sits at the core of everything the business does.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
[ENDS]
About Apax:
Apax is a global private equity advisory firm investing in mid-market businesses across the Technology, Services and Internet/Consumer sectors. Combining the scale of a global firm with the focus of a sector specialist, Apax works with management teams to create long-term value through operational value creation. With more than 50 years of private equity experience in operational value creation, Apax has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of approximately $80 billion. For more information, visit: www.apax.com
About Sedex:
Sedex is a global technology company specialising in data, insights and professional services to empower supply chain sustainability. Our platform, tools and services enable businesses to easily manage and improve their social, ethical and environmental performance, manage risk and meet their supply chain sustainability goals.
Sedex has over 20 years of expertise and provides end-to-end supply chain solutions for all businesses – including SMETA, our world-leading site-level social audit, which is SSCI-recognised. We are an official GRI Software & Tools Partner, and certified for ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) and ISO 27701 (Privacy Information Management). We are proud to work with a community of 100,000 customers and 120,000 supply chain sites across 35 sectors globally. This includes some of the world’s most recognisable brands, such as JDE, Nestlé, Molson Coors, Yum! Brands, Marks & Spencer, Mengniu, Tesco, Asahi, Li & Fung, John Lewis Partnership (JLP) and Barclays.
About SHLM:
SHLM is a membership organisation incorporated as a company limited by guarantee under English law. As a membership organisation, SHLM operates for the mutual benefit of all its members. It protects and promotes its vision to drive sustainability in supply chains, in alignment with the Objects (mission) set out in its Articles of Association – to promote improved labour conditions and other corporate social responsibility practices in global supply chains. It will continue to advance its founding mission through SHLM and its newly established charitable foundation.
About LDC:
LDC is a private equity investor and part of Lloyds Banking Group. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. LDC has invested £3.7 billion to back 176 management teams over the last decade. Today, it has a portfolio of more than 90 businesses representing all regions and sectors of the UK economy. LDC-backed businesses have grown 3.1x more than the average medium-sized business over the last 10 years.
