What we buy — stated plainly.
We publish our criteria so you can rule us in or out in two minutes rather than two months. If you are close but not exact, it is still worth a conversation.
Small enough to be overlooked. Large enough to matter.
These are guidelines rather than hard gates. Profitability in particular is flexible — a break-even business with good clients is squarely of interest.
- Revenue
- £1m – £15m. Below £1m only where it is a bolt-on to something we already own.
- Profitability
- EBITDA up to around £2m. We will look at break-even and modestly loss-making businesses where the cause is identifiable and fixable — this is central to what we do, not an exception to it.
- Sector
- Human capital: recruitment and staffing, training and apprenticeships, assessment and credentialing, HR and payroll services, compliance and vetting, and workforce technology.
- Geography
- United Kingdom and Ireland. We do not currently acquire outside these markets.
- Stake
- Majority or 100%. We will consider leaving a meaningful minority with a seller who is staying involved, but we do not take passive minority positions.
- Structure
- Cash on completion with, where appropriate, deferred consideration or an earn-out. We would rather agree a straightforward structure than a clever one.
- Owner's role
- Flexible by design — a clean exit, a handover period, or an ongoing commercial role. We will tell you honestly which we think is best for the business.
The circumstances we are drawn to
We are more interested in why a business is available than in how polished its information memorandum is. Most of what we buy has never had one.
Situations that fit us well
- Retirement or succession with no internal successor and no obvious trade buyer.
- A founder who has lost appetite — still capable, no longer motivated.
- A division or subsidiary that has become non-core to its parent group.
- A business that never fully recovered from a demand shock but kept its client base.
- Good revenue undermined by weak systems, weak pricing or weak reporting.
- An MBO the management team wants but cannot fund on its own.
- Shareholder deadlock or a partnership that has run its course.
- A profitable niche trapped inside a business that is unprofitable overall.
What we will not consider
- Pre-revenue or early-stage businesses seeking growth capital.
- Passive minority stakes with no operational involvement.
- Businesses already in a formal insolvency process, or trading unlawfully.
- Activities requiring FCA authorisation or other permissions we do not hold.
- Turnarounds needing a specialist management team we cannot credibly supply.
- Sectors outside human capital, however attractive the numbers look.
- Businesses whose margin depends on practices we would not be willing to defend.
- Competitive auctions run to a timetable that leaves no room for real diligence.
How a conversation becomes a completed deal
Designed for a business of this size — not a scaled-down version of a large-cap process. Indicative timings; a straightforward deal can move faster.
First conversation
A call, under NDA if you prefer. You tell us what the business does and why you are considering a sale. We tell you immediately whether it is of interest. No information pack required.
Indicative view
On three years of accounts and a short conversation about the client base, we give you an indicative valuation range and structure. If we cannot get to a number that works for you, we say so here rather than three months in.
Heads of terms
Price, structure, your role, treatment of the team, and exclusivity — agreed in writing before either side spends money on advisers.
Due diligence
Financial, legal, commercial and — in this sector particularly — compliance and contract review. Proportionate to the size of the deal. We tell you what we need up front rather than in a rolling stream of requests.
Completion
Share purchase agreement, disclosure and funds. We agree the announcement to staff and clients with you in advance, and we do not surprise your team.
The first hundred days
A written integration plan you will have seen before completion. Cash, contracts, compliance and people first; systems and pricing next.
If you advise owners in this sector
We work with corporate finance advisers, accountants and brokers, and we try to be an easy counterparty.
A fast, honest read
A clear yes or no within days, with the reasoning. We will not sit on an opportunity to keep an option open.
Fees respected
Introducer and adviser fee arrangements agreed in writing at the outset, and honoured on completion.
We do our own work
We understand how these businesses make money, so diligence is quicker and your client is asked fewer naive questions.
Discretion as standard
We do not approach a client's staff, customers or competitors without explicit permission at each stage.
One call is enough to know whether this is worth continuing.
Send us the sector, roughly the revenue, and why you are considering a sale. That is all we need to give you a genuine answer.