This week we speak with Graeme Wallis who is embarking on his ETA journey by pursuing a traditional search fund. Graeme is passionate about ETA and the UK ecosystem, and he will be joining us on future episodes.  In the episode, Graeme shares how he leant about search funds, and why the traditional route appealed most to him, and then Paul and Graeme discuss the differences between traditional and self-funded search funds and the UK- specific nuances. Enjoy!  

This week we speak with Mike Hindi, Chairman of Green Logistics Groningen. Mike searched for his company as part of the Novastone searcher cohort and acquired his company in The Netherlands, will living in Switzerland.  In the episode, Mike discusses the importance of people and building relationships for both the operational stage and for a smooth acquisition process. Mike also discusses why he was so attracted to the business he acquired, the complexities of a cross-border transaction, and the thrills of the search. We hope you enjoy the episode as much as we did. 

This week, we speak with Julie Wilkinson -  a Chartered Accountant, Virtual CFO, and M&A specialist helping ambitious business owners buy and grow SMEs. In this episode, we cover deal valuation and structuring, financial and operation due diligence, building a group and the nuances of group reporting and cash flow. If you are looking to buy multiple businesses- this is a great episode to listen to. 

This week, we speak with Nick Bradley. Nick is an experienced entrepreneur, CEO, and investor in SMEs. Nick now partners with business owners to scale and eventually exit their businesses. Nick helped grow Getty Images via acquisition around 2008-2010 and more recently helped scale Ascend Learning to an eventual sale to Blackstone PE.  Nick also hosts  Scale Up With Nick Bradley, which is one of the top-ranking business podcasts in the UK. In this episode, Nick shares some fascinating stories on how he scaled and exited some fantastic businesses [including a couple of $Bn exits to PE], how he would partner with PE as an operational turnaround expert,  his thoughts on SME acquisitions in both the UK and the US, and how he partners with businesses of different sizes to scale and exit. Enjoy this excellent episode!

This week, we speak with Logan Naidu, Founder, and Group CEO - of Kernel Global and Dartmouth Partners. Dartmouth has been listed by The Sunday Times as one of the UK's fastest-growing firms in 2022 and recognized by Fast50 as the fastest-growing company in its industry. In this episode, Logan shares why he left the world of finance to start his own recruitment company, his experience acquiring Pure Partners, and partnering with private equity to continue his ambitious growth plans. Enjoy the episode!

This week, Paul is excited to announce the acquisition of his first business. A fantastic company in the home improvement sector, in the UK.  During the episode, Paul discusses why he decided to look into the home improvement sector and why he is excited about this particular company. Paul also recaps his search journey and the challenges he encountered along the way. Enjoy!  

This week, we speak with Sarah Gardner, Founder and Managing Director of Allegro Tax - a specialist tax advisory firm. In this Episode, Sarah begins by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of buying a target company through an SPV as opposed to doing so personally, how to benefit from entrepreneurs' relief, the tax efficient options available for incentivising employees, tactics for minimizing capital gains tax when acquiring a business and much more. Enjoy the episode!

This week, we speak with Mark Flood, co-founder and director of Renatus Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Ireland that makes investments in Irish and UK companies with enterprise values of €5 million and above. In this episode, Mark shares his journey leading up to the launch of Renatus, the ins and outs of raising a fund, what they look for in their portfolio companies, how they hire and attract the right people, and more about the Irish private equity ecosystem. Enjoy the episode!

This week, we speak with Ross Tomkins, an entrepreneur, investor,  author, and mens health advocate. Ross is also the founder of TDH Capital, an integrated healthcare group with 4 verticals: medical supplies, home care services, healthcare recruitment, and mens hormonal healthcare. In this episode, Ross describes how his acquisition journey began after running his physiotherapy business for many years, how he sourced and structured 7 acquisitions since Covid [and 2 exits], and how he thinks about partnerships and management within his businesses so that he can focus on building the group. We also get into the importance of men's hormonal health, why equity is so much more expensive then debt, and how Ross is helping others on their M&A journey. Enjoy the episode!

This week, we speak with Dan Cremons, a former private equity investor and CEO; and now founder of Accelera Partners and Author of Winning Moves: 105 Proven Ways to Create Value in PE-Backed Companies.  In this episode, Dan discusses how leadership, talent, and capabilities drive performance of PE-backed companies. We discuss how to ensure the right talent is in place for a target acquisition, how to recruit and incentivise high performers, and so much more. Enjoy the episode and be sure to check out Dan's new book!