OryxAlign secures £254m from Palatine Private Equity
This article covers OryxAlign, a Manchester- and London-based hardware startup, which has entered a strategic partnership with Palatine Private Equity tied to Palatine’s £254m Buyout Fund V. The deal will fund organic expansion, systems and people investment, and targeted acquisitions to strengthen its network design, build and managed IT services for data centre and critical infrastructure clients.
OryxAlign, a Manchester- and London-based hardware startup specialising in mission-critical network design, build and managed IT services, has entered a strategic partnership with Palatine Private Equity in a growth funding round tied to Palatine’s £254m Buyout Fund V. The deal — Palatine’s second from the new fund — will fund organic expansion, systems and people investment, and targeted acquisitions in the critical infrastructure and data centre markets.
Why it matters
This transaction signals continued investor appetite for tech services businesses that sit at the intersection of networking and critical infrastructure. OryxAlign positions itself as an end-to-end provider for clients that cannot tolerate downtime, and the Palatine backing aims to accelerate that position through both operational investment and M&A. The deal is also notable for the shared B Corp status between investor and investee, a factor Palatine says influenced the selection.
Inside the product
Founded in 2006 by Carl Henriksen, OryxAlign employs around 130 people and operates globally from offices in Manchester and London. Its offering covers the full lifecycle of infrastructure delivery: network design, build, and ongoing managed services for clients in data centres and other critical sites. That end-to-end capability is the rationale Palatine cites for the company’s differentiated market position.
Palatine has recently invested in other technology services businesses, including Atombit Group and Fulfilmentcrowd in 2025, and references previous experience with companies such as Acora and FourNet as part of its playbook for scaling service-led platforms.
Who are the investors?
The lead investor is Palatine Private Equity, deploying capital from its £254m Buyout Fund V. Palatine describes the OryxAlign deal as its second from the fund and its third tech services investment in the past year, following Atombit Group and Fulfilmentcrowd.
Palatine’s investment team on the transaction included Danielle Garland and partner Andy Strickland, both of whom have joined OryxAlign’s board. They were supported by Shiyu Pan and Stephanie Wall from Palatine’s sustainability team, Greta Steponaviciute from the value enhancement team and Nigel Moss from the portfolio team.
Palatine was advised by BDO (buyside corporate finance), Shoosmiths (legal), Wilson Partners (financial and tax due diligence), Analysys Mason (commercial due diligence), Coppett Hill (GTM due diligence), Stratton (management due diligence), CIL (data due diligence), Dave Loughenbury (IT due diligence), Lockton (insurance due diligence) and RSM (tax structuring).
OryxAlign was advised by KPMG (corporate finance) and DWF (legal).
In the announcement, Danielle Garland, investment director at Palatine, said:
OryxAlign is already a stand-out player in its market place led by an ambitious and talented CEO and leadership team. Since our first interaction with Carl nearly four years ago we have followed the company’s progress closely and now look forward to helping them to go further and faster in terms of their growth. The critical infrastructure sector with the data centre sector as a core component is one of the most exciting growth verticals in tech services and OryxAlign's end-to-end capability — from network design and build through to managed services — gives it a compelling and differentiated position.
This investment also reflects Palatine's strong track record in scaling technology and managed services businesses. Our experience with companies including Acora and FourNet gives us a deep understanding of what it takes to build market-leading platforms in this space — and we are looking forward to bringing that expertise to bear alongside Carl and the team. OryxAlign's B Corp certification is also a genuine differentiator —as a fellow B Corp, sustainability is not a box we tick; it is central to how we invest and how we create long-term value.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Carl Henriksen, founder and CEO at OryxAlign, said:
This is a real partnership, not just an investment, and that distinction matters to me and the whole team. Palatine brings more than capital. They bring expertise, a collaborative approach, deep sector knowledge, and a shared belief that how you do business is just as important as what you achieve.
Together, we will be better positioned to extend our presence across the critical infrastructure sectors where we operate, bringing more capability and reach to the clients who depend on us. And critically, this creates further career opportunities for our people to grow, to develop, and to take on bigger roles as we scale.
The bigger picture
The deal underlines a broader pattern in the UK market: private equity funds are actively targeting service-led infrastructure businesses where recurring managed-services revenue and technical expertise create defensible positions. For hardware-focused businesses operating at the network and data centre edge, the combination of specialist engineering teams and platforms that can be scaled through acquisitions remains attractive to investors.
Palatine deploying its largest-ever fund and emphasising B Corp credentials also reflects growing investor interest in sustainability-aligned deals across Europe. For the UK ecosystem, the transaction is a reminder that buyout capital continues to flow into mid-market technology services — providing exit and growth pathways for founders and investors alike.
They've invested in OryxAlign
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