Deal Origination
Off-market acquisition opportunities, identified before they reach a broker and introduced to a single buyer.
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THE PREMISE
Many of the best businesses to buy are not for sale.
Their owners haven't spoken to a broker, and many haven't given an exit much thought. Some of them would consider one if the right buyer asked at the right time. Our job is to find those owners and start that conversation properly.
THE PROCESS
How a mandate runs.
Direct outreach to every qualified owner in your segment, not just the ones already thinking about it. You see the companies before a broker does, and before anyone else is bidding.
01
Define the mandate
Sector, geography, revenue band, ownership profile, and what rules a company out. Written down and agreed before any outreach begins, so there is no ambiguity later about what counts as a fit.
02
Map the whole segment
Every company that meets the criteria, not a shortlist. Pre-filtering on public signals is guesswork, and the seller you want is usually not the one the data flags.
03
Approach every owner directly
Not brokers, not intermediaries, not advisors. We contact the owner of every company on the list, because the only reliable way to find out whether someone will sell is to ask them.
04
Qualify
A reply is not a seller. We speak to everyone who responds and establish whether they are serious about transacting, what the business actually looks like, and whether it fits your criteria in practice rather than on paper. Ownership, financials, timing, and motivation.
05
Introduce
You receive introductions to owners who are willing to have a real conversation, with the context of everything we have already discussed with them. One at a time, and only to you.
BEST FIT
PE firms and M&A advisors buying in the lower mid-market, with a defined thesis and capacity to act on introductions.
SECTOR COVERAGE
Where we source.
The method does not depend on knowing a sector in advance. These are the four we already understand how the businesses operate and who owns them.
Business services
Facilities management, consultancy, accountancy, and outsourced back office.
Recurring revenue, contracted customers, and a large population of independent operators at this size.
Consolidation is active but most owners have never been approached directly.
Industrials and manufacturing
Specialist manufacturers, engineering, and precision components.
Long customer relationships and real barriers to entry, often overlooked because the businesses do not market themselves.
Owners are typically second generation with no obvious buyer.
Technology
Managed IT services, specialist software, and hardware providers serving a single industry.
Sticky recurring revenue, low customer churn, and a market still dominated by small, founder-run operators.
Founder-led with limited succession planning, and rarely marketed for sale.
Home improvement and trades
Windows and doors, general builders, roofing, heating and plumbing.
Highly fragmented, almost entirely owner-managed, and the sector we know commercially through our lead generation arm.
Ageing ownership across the segment with limited succession planning.
Exclusivity and conduct
We take one mandate per sector and geography. If we are searching a segment for you, we are not searching it for anyone else, and we will not take on a client who could compete with you for the same company.
Owners are approached on a confidential basis. We do not name you at first contact. Your identity is disclosed once an owner has agreed to a conversation and we have qualified them against your criteria.
We approach owners as a firm acting for a buyer, not as a broker running a process. Nobody is told their business is being marketed and nobody is asked for information before they have agreed to talk.
Once we make an introduction, the relationship is yours. We provide the conversation context and step back. We do not represent the seller and we do not take a fee from them.
An owner who is not interested is not approached again for that mandate. These sectors are small and the way we conduct outreach reflects on you as much as on us.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What you need to know.
Scope, exclusivity, and how introductions are handled.
