2018
Charlie was a senior team member and shareholder at Tekmar, a company that floated on the LSE in 2018 raising nearly £65 million. Following the IPO, he helped acquire and integrate multiple businesses into the group.
Serious about business.
Not about suits.
Headliner Group is a buy-and-build group built by two founders, Jake Barlow and Charlie Sullivan, who came up through operating businesses. We acquire and grow established events businesses across the four pillars that underpin every great event: Planning, Marketing, Production, and Staffing.
We’re not a fund. We’re not faceless. We work shoulder to shoulder with the founders and leaders inside our portfolio to grow their businesses the right way.
WHO WE ARE
We're
Jake
and
Charlie,
co-founders
of
Headliner
group.
Jake, Co-Founder
Digital Lead for major digital transformation at Barclays and post acquisition integration programmes at FTSE 500 NCC Group.
Charlie, Co-Founder
Scaled Tekmar’s oil & gas division to 35+ major clients and 100+ projects. Core member of the SLT that took Tekmar to a £65m LSE flotation.
We met through property investing and quickly realised our skill sets were complementary. Charlie brings the commercial instinct, and the experience of scaling a business through a public listing. Jake brings the operational rigour, the systems thinking, and the post-acquisition integration playbook honed at FTSE500 scale. Together we built Headliner Group to back founder-led events businesses the way we’d want our own businesses backed.
Our Story
Our Story
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2020
Looking to spend more time with family, Charlie relocated to Cheshire and focused on building a property investment portfolio spanning HMOs, commercial properties, and developments.
2021
Jake worked as a digital lead at Barclays, supporting their banking app and website. He later joined FTSE 500 cybersecurity firms, specialising in post-acquisition integration and systems implementation. Eventually, he transitioned into property investment, mirroring Charlie’s journey.
2022
Charlie and Jake met through property investing, realised they shared a complementary skill set and an ambition to build something bigger, and decided to create an investment group focused on sectors they knew well.
2023
With a clear strategy, Charlie and Jake established Headliner Group (formerly FB Investment Group), focused on acquiring and scaling businesses in the UK events sector. Their investment model prioritised stability, growth, and strong operational leadership.
2025
Headliner Group now operates across the four pillars that underpin every great event: Planning, Marketing, Production, and Staffing. Each company in the group leads in one or more of these pillars, while working together when projects demand integrated delivery.
2026
Unlike private equity, Charlie and Jake remain hands-on investors, working with founders to drive success without stripping away their company’s identity. The approach is about partnership, not just profit.
Our Values
01
Integrity First
We do the right thing, always. Our decisions are guided by honesty, ethics, and responsibility, ensuring we build businesses on trust and strong foundations.
02
People Before Profits
Success isn’t measured in numbers alone. We prioritise the wellbeing of teams, customers, and the communities our businesses serve. Growth should benefit everyone, not just shareholders.
03
Trust Through Transparency
We believe in open, honest communication with our partners, our portfolio leaders, and our teams. Transparency builds strong, lasting relationships.
04
Bold but Thoughtful Decisions
We’re not afraid of calculated risk. Every move we make is rooted in experience, strategy, and careful execution.
05
Long-Term Vision
We don’t chase short-term wins. Our focus is on sustainable, meaningful growth, ensuring the businesses we invest in flourish for years to come.
06
Excellence
We hold ourselves, and the businesses we back, to the highest standards. From leadership to operations, we strive for continuous improvement, innovation, and exceptional performance.
What Makes Us Different
We’re private investors, not private equity. No fund cycle. No carry. No artificial exit clock ticking in the background. We buy to hold, and we invest in people first, numbers second.
We’ve been the operator. We’ve been the founder. We’ve sat on both sides of a deal table. That experience changes how we show up, how we negotiate, and how we support founders once the ink is dry.
For Founders Thinking About What's Next
If you run an established events business and you’re starting to think about your next chapter, we’d like to talk. Whether that’s a full exit, a partial sale, or a long-term partner who can take the operational load off while you focus on what you do best, we’re built for those conversations.
We’re not looking to strip out your team, rebrand your business, or chase a quick flip. We’re looking for good operators, strong brands, and founders who care about continuity as much as we do.
Talk to us.
PLAN IT PROPERLY.
DELIVER IT SEAMLESSLY.
We bring clarity, structure, and trusted teams together to deliver events that run exactly as they should from first brief to final execution.
© 2026 Headliner Group Ltd. All rights reserved.