One business, run by the person who buys it.
I am not a fund manager or a broker, and I do not work for a larger group. I want to find one well-run company whose owner is thinking about the future, buy it, and run it day to day, keeping its name, its staff and its customers.
From there I want to grow it steadily, including by bringing in other specialist firms that sit well alongside it.
What I am looking for
Statutory building safety and compliance services.
Businesses that inspect, service and maintain what buildings are legally required to keep safe, with most of their work coming from recurring maintenance or contracts. For example:
- Fire and security systems
- Housing gas, electrical and compliance services
- Drainage maintenance
- Pest control
- Lift maintenance
- Healthcare and specialist engineering
Size
Typically around GBP 1.5 million to GBP 3 million of profit.
Ownership
Founder or family owned and run, often for many years, with an owner thinking about what comes next.
Work
At least half from recurring maintenance or contracted work, for a broad base of customers, with no single customer the business depends on.
Location
Mainly South East England, London and the Thames Valley.
For business owners
A sale that looks after what you built.
- Continuity: the business keeps its name, and your staff and customer relationships are the reason to buy it. They stay.
- A full sale, on your timetable: stay for a handover period, move to an advisory role, or step away.
- Or sell part, and stay involved: sell some of the business now, keep a stake and a role, and share in what comes next.
- A direct, private approach: I contact owners directly rather than through brokers, and every conversation is in confidence.
The purchase would be funded by a small group of investors who back individuals buying and running businesses, alongside bank debt.
About
Peter Langdon
For the last ten years I have co-run a doctor-led clinic in Maidenhead registered with the Care Quality Commission, responsible for its finances, premises and compliance, including the safety checks and servicing it must evidence to inspectors. I know these services as the customer who buys them; I have not run a contractor.
Before that I spent twenty years in corporate finance and acquisitions, including leading corporate development and investor relations at Biffa through its London listing, and acquisition work for private-equity-backed and listed groups.
I would bring that experience of running a regulated small business, and of buying and integrating companies, while relying on the people who already know the work.
Chartered Accountant (FCA) · MBA, University of Oxford · Based in Berkshire
What to expect
How a conversation works.
- An informal first conversation, by phone or over coffee, under a non-disclosure agreement if you prefer.
- An initial look at high-level figures, after which I give you a prompt indication of value and structure.
- A letter of intent, then focused due diligence that keeps disruption to your team to a minimum.
- Completion and handover, planned with you and at a pace that suits you.
For investors
Backing an owner-operator.
I am raising funding from a small group of investors who back individuals buying and running businesses. A memorandum is available to professional investors on request.
Get in touch
Start a confidential conversation.
If you own a business that may fit, or advise someone who does, I would be glad to hear from you. Every enquiry is treated in confidence.