Stockholm, December 18 2025 – NCS Colour, the global leader in colour communication, announces a new partnership with Helix Kapital, which is acquiring an ownership stake from Sobro after 15 years. The acquisition marks the beginning of a new growth phase in which NCS Colour intends to accelerate its international expansion, strengthen its global position and continue investing in both digital and physical colour-communication tools.
NCS was founded in 1945 and has grown from its base in Stockholm into the global industry standard for colour communication within the coatings industry as well as the architecture and design sectors. NCS offers a comprehensive ecosystem of licences for the NCS system, digital tools, training, and physical design products, and currently sells to approximately 100 countries. The company’s leading market position is built on a research-based system grounded in the human visual perception of colour, combined with a deep functional and commercial understanding of customer needs. NCS enables colour precision, higher quality and greater efficiency throughout the entire value chain, resulting in long-term relationships with international players in the paint industry.
NCS has a established organisation and an experienced management team, who will remain as significant co-owners. Together with Helix Kapital, the company now enters its next growth phase, focused on continued strong customer relationships, further internationalisation and expansion into new verticals where the demand for precise and standardised colour communication is rapidly increasing.
Comment from Helix Kapital
“NCS is a well-established quality company with a unique position in its niche. The company combines strong customer relationships, long-term stability and an offering that delivers concrete value creation for its global customer base. We look forward to continuing to develop the business together with the management team,” says Stefan Lambert, Partner at Helix Kapital.
Comment from NCS Colour
“Thanks to our strong partnership with Sobro, NCS has developed into a growth company with a significant global position. We now look forward to the next phase with Helix Kapital as our owner – accelerating our international expansion as well as developing and offering our customers even more value-adding and innovative colour solutions through the NCS System,” says Elin Askfelt, CEO at NCS Colour.
Comment from Sobro
“We are proud of the journey NCS has made in recent years and grateful for the trust placed in us as an ownership partner during part of the company’s 80-year history. During this period, NCS’s management and employees have established a strong global position and broadened the digital offering in an impressive way. We are convinced that NCS will continue to create value for both customers and employees with Helix Kapital as its new majority owner. We look forward to following the company’s continued success with its new ownership partner,” says Louise Saatchi, Partner at Sobro.
About NCS Colour
For more than 80 years, companies in the coatings and design industries, along with architects and other professionals working with precise colour communication, have relied on NCS Colour and the scientifically based NCS System. Today, NCS Colour operates in around 100 markets, where the standard serves as a universal language for defining the approximately ten million colours humans can perceive.
The company’s success is built on systematic development and a deep understanding of how colour is perceived and applied. Through the NCS System, and the premium physical and digital solutions derived from it, NCS Colour enables colour precision from concept to final product.
Elin Askfelt, CEO
elin.askfelt@ncscolour.com
+46 73 510 50 63
About Helix Kapital
Helix Kapital is a Swedish growth-oriented investment company that invests in smaller unlisted Nordic companies. Helix seeks businesses with proven and profitable business models in industries supported by long-term growth trends.
Helix Kapital is backed by leading global financial institutions and benefits from support from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund.
Stefan Lambert, Partner
stefan.lambert@helixkapital.se
+46 70 216 65 69
About Sobro
Sobro’s vision is to be an engaged ownership partner for the companies of the future. Through a focus on business development, company culture and employees, as well as clear objectives, Sobro helps build profitable companies with strong growth and lasting value. Today, Sobro is an ownership partner in 13 companies across various industries.
Louise Saatchi, Partner
louise@sobro.se
+46 73 069 88 84