The M&A Zing

In this episode of M&A Zing, Gareth Hawkins sits down with Thomas Fry and Luke Grob, co-founders of LT Heritage Partners, to break down what it actually looks like to build a UK search fund from scratch. They cover the unglamorous reality (rejection, long lead times, and keeping momentum), the strategic bits (what makes a great target, how to think about “defensibility” in an SME), and the pra...

UK landscaping is consolidating fast. We unpack the roll-up playbook, size up the big platforms, and then get practical with two real listings: a London front-garden specialist and a Midlands grounds-maintenance and arboriculture firm. Expect ARR dynamics, founder-dependence risk, accreditations, margins, and whether either deal makes sense as a platform. Highlights include Nurture Group and idver...

Gareth sits down with Craig Brennan to unpack how he’s grown a 60-site nursery group through patient dealmaking, strong operating cadence and a people-first culture. We get into deal structures (including vendor terms), what really moves EBITDA in childcare, how to integrate without breaking quality, and the mistakes that taught the biggest lessons. If you’re eyeing roll-ups in regulated services,...

Can AI cut due diligence time from weeks to days without missing red flags? For the first episode of Season 3, Gareth talks to Andrew Stace, CEO and co-founder of Reccy, about using AI to review data rooms, surface risks quickly, and help mid-market buyers reach conviction faster. We cover where AI genuinely helps, where guardrails matter, and how deal behaviour is shifting when bandwidth and fees...

AI Music SaaS: 3M+ Users, 80% Margins, ~£560k Profit — smart bet or burning platform?  In this Buy-Side Breakdown, we analyse a consumer-led AI music tool listed on Acquire. It reports ~3m users, c.3,700 subscribers, ~$700k TTM revenue and ~80% margins, but growth has stalled around 2% and churn raises questions. We dig into valuation, unit economics, platform risk, and who should actually buy thi...

Another Buy-Side Breakdown: we unpack a 30-year CNC machining business reporting ~£2.4m turnover and unusually strong margins. This isn’t a fluffy walk-through. We dig into why the balance sheet shows lots of cash but little kit, what that implies for near-term CapEx, how to price customer concentration into the SPA, and where real upside lives with CAD/CAM copilots, cobots and lights-out runs. Wh...

This week Gareth is joined by Andrew Longcore - Managing Partner at Business Law Group and Founder of Cecil Sterling & Co. - to unpack what makes a good small-to-mid market deal and how to avoid the traps new acquirers fall into. Andrew’s mission is simple: help entrepreneurs “defeat the unknown” in transactions. We get into buy-side vs sell-side realities, why many SMBs underuse acquisitions...

In this week's M&A Zing interview, Gareth talks with Toby Henry - former consultant and fintech exec turned acquisition entrepreneur - about buying and running Accelerator Solutions, a 25-year-old learning, research and people-based consulting firm. We cover: ̇Why he chose self-funded ETA over a traditional search Structuring a partnership-style deal where founders stay on Leading a people and...

This week’s Buy Side Breakdown dissects a vinyl and merchandise producer listing touting ~£9.7m revenue and ~£1.83m adj. EBITDA, “fully relocatable,” and “outsourced everything.” We unpack the reality behind the broker gloss: market wobble vs long-term demand, EOT complications, asset-purchase logic, and whether this is a platform play or a bolt-on for a fan-commerce roll-up. What you’ll learn: Ho...

Tonia Nagle has sat on both sides of the table: scaling at P&G and leading transformations across FMCG, telecoms and agencies. Now she’s buying and building a collaborative group where independent cultures thrive. This episode goes deep on roll-ups done right, no-personal-guarantee structures, and operator playbooks that actually scale. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to filter 26,000 UK ag...

This week on The M&A Zing, Gareth sits down with Jenna Hill, founder of FIA Investments, to explore how she built a thriving portfolio of Northern Irish small businesses, all without prior industry experience or upfront capital. Jenna’s story isn’t just about deal-making, it’s about preserving local legacies, protecting jobs, and inspiring a new generation of acquirers to do the same. 👉 What...

Alexander Kalis has sat on every side of the investment table: from Rothschild and Santander hedge fund management, to running a $1bn global asset manager, to backing Oxford spinouts that produced unicorns (and even the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine). Now he’s turned his attention to ETA and SME buyouts. Through Archimax and the tongue-in-cheek B.O.R.I.N.G. Investment Club (Buyouts of Resilient Inc...

From vaccine research at Harvard, to AstraZeneca BD, to running a £50m book, and now a traditional, healthcare-only search. Robert Shore (Shorefox Partners) unpacks mid-career ETA, how science habits translate to sourcing, why “AI-proof” is now a diligence pillar, and the gritty reality of brokered vs proprietary deal flow. In this episode: - Why a mid-career, sector-specialist traditional search...

A live keynote from Al Zucker on why UK/EU SMB M&A is hitting an inflection point: the seller wave, VC’s post-ZIRP reset, operator-led deals, and pragmatic capital stacks (FOs, private credit, small-cap PE). Real talk, data, and operator takeaways. What to expect 👇 - Why resilient UK SMBs are coming to market now (succession + policy + macro). - Venture’s changing math: dispersion, slower DPI...

This week: We break down on-market vs off-market search for UK SMB M&A—what moves faster, where value hides, and how to avoid deal fatigue. We map buyer types, typical multiples, and the “Goldilocks” broker zone. Net-net: the winners run blended pipelines (brokers + proprietary outreach) and keep momentum across multiple live threads. We cover: ✅ Why a blended pipeline outperforms single-chan...

In this special episode of M&A Zing, Alfie and Gareth dive into the future of SMB M&A in the UK and Europe. From the latest deal trends and the rise of search funds, to shifts in lending and the impact of AI tools, they map out what 2025 could mean for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funders, and holdco builders. You’ll hear about: ✅ Consolidation in M&A tools and lenders ✅ Why SMB...

In this week’s Buy Side Breakdown, Alfie is joined by colleague Toby Johnson to assess a logistics and transport company currently listed for sale in North West England. The business has three distinct revenue streams: professional driver training, haulage operations, and pallet storage; with a reported £2.5m turnover and £700k gross profit. The asking price is £1m plus fleet, plant, and equipment...

In this special solo edition of M&A Zing, Alfie dives deep into one of the most misunderstood parts of the acquisition process: outreach. Finding companies to buy is only the start, earning conversations with owners is what turns research into real opportunities. In this episode, you’ll learn both the manual way to run cold outreach and the modern tools that simplify the process. Covered in th...

This week on M&A Zing, Gareth sits down with Jan-Marc Pickhan, a serial acquirer who has built three engineering groups - Allied Global Engineering, GE Engineering, and Suffolk ES Solutions - comprising five companies across the North West and West Midlands. Jan-Marc’s journey took him from a decade-long corporate career at Schneider Electric in Germany, Switzerland, and France to relocating t...

In this illuminating episode of The M&AZing Podcast, host Alfie Lambert talks with Cal Shelton, entrepreneur and owner of Precision MSK Health. Cal shares his transition from working in insolvency and consulting roles into the acquisition entrepreneurship space, focusing specifically on the health sector. Unlike many acquisition entrepreneurs chasing large initial deals, Cal strategically chos...

In this episode, Gareth Hawkins speaks with Bramley Johnson, renowned search fund investor, former Director of the International Search Fund Center, and now founder of Victoriam Equity. Bramley shares candid insights on the evolution of the search fund model, from its humble beginnings in the 1980s to today’s thriving international ecosystem. Together they discuss why the traditional search fund m...

In this insightful episode, Gareth Hawkins speaks with Amit Rai, CEO and co-founder of Astra Holdings, alongside Michele Corradi (CEO) and Andrea Allegrini (Business Development Director) of Lindbergh S.p.a., a public company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. They discuss the critical differences in growth strategies between public and private serial acquirers, revealing how Lindbergh successful...

Join Gareth Hawkins for a special live episode from the Serial Acquirer Symposium, featuring Ibrahim Abdel Rahim, Managing Partner at Moonbase Capital.  Ibrahim shares his journey from leading major business initiatives in the Middle East and consulting at McKinsey, to establishing Moonbase as a prominent backer of search fund entrepreneurs across Europe. Discover key insights into Moonbase Capita...

In this special episode recorded live from the Serial Acquirer Symposium in London, we’re joined by Robin Goldhagen, Assistant Vice President of Investor Relations at Novastone Capital Advisors (NCA). Robin shares fascinating insights into the unique "Operator-Led Search" model pioneered by NCA, how they identify and support mid-career professionals transitioning into entrepreneurship through acqu...

Join Gareth Hawkins and Alfie Lambert for another insightful Buy-side Breakdown as they analyse the potential acquisition of a creative and digital agency based in Warwickshire. Currently listed at an ambitious valuation, Gareth and Alfie explore the agency's strengths, potential growth opportunities, and risks - including AI's transformative impact, client concentration, and platform dependencies...