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 as…

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 …

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 Ge…

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 chasi…

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. Toget…

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 se…

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 E…

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 professional…

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 impac…

From “credit-card startup money” to five exits + a global coaching empire, Paul Evans unpacks the exact playbook for scaling to £10 m… then deciding whether to buy, build or cash-out. Paul Avins, founder of Scale Up Coaching and community-builder at Team Dynamics Global, has helped owners add a combined £140 m+ in enterprise value. In this rapid-fi…

Modern polymath Nadim Kapadia (Managing Partner & Founder of Aligned Partners HoldCo) has worn every hat: diplomat-turned-consultant, FTSE-100 advisor, VC mentor, Singapore expat, and now self-funded searcher on a mission to buy and build UK SMEs in healthcare & early-years education. In this episode he breaks down: Why a purpose-driven diplomat le…

Today’s guests are Andrew Napier and Evani Mannur, founding partners of the brand-new UK search fund 22 Capital Partners. Andrew brings a deep finance and transformation background, while Evani is a serial entrepreneur who has already bought and scaled companies with her own capital. We talk about why they chose “entrepreneurship through acquisitio…

Running the company from the bank balance might feel quick, but it’s why 82 % of small firms die of “self-inflicted” cash-flow wounds. Former JP Morgan banker Tom Griffiths now parachutes into owner-managed businesses as a fractional CFO. He walks us through: - The 16 financial drivers every SME should track (revenue → gross → net → cash) - Spottin…

Modern polymath Sam Simpson (CEO @ Founder Catalyst & Co-Founder @ Forge Technologies) has worn every hat: quantum physicist, £450 m buy-and-build survivor, SEIS-powered founder, angel in 30+ start-ups. In this episode he breaks down: Why an 18 % loan-note stack killed 2e2 overnight, and how that shaped his “no-debt” rule Turning a £20 k SEIS chequ…

Welcome to *M&A Zing*, the weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funders and hold-co builders in the UK & Europe. Fresh back from a 400-strong ETA weekend at INSEAD, host Gareth Hawkins sits down with *Sebastiaan Willen*, ex-Bain consultant turned self-funded searcher, to unpack how he acquired premium artificial-green-wall maker *Vista…

Welcome to Episode 13 of M&A Zing - the weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search-funders and hold-co builders in the UK, Europe *and beyond*. This week we head to the United Arab Emirates to meet Adam Giansiracusa, founder of *Oryx Legacy* and one of the first traditional searchers dedicated to acquiring SMEs in the GCC. Adam explains why …

Welcome to Episode 12 of M&A Zing - the weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search-funders, and hold-co builders across the UK & Europe. This week Gareth Hawkins sits down with Amit Rai*, co-founder & CEO of *Astra Holdings*. After strategy gigs at McKinsey, senior roles at Microsoft & Nokia, and a venture exit to Shell, Amit is now on a mis…

Welcome to M&A Zing - the weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search-funders, and hold-co builders across the UK & Europe. In this episode, Alfie Lambert and *Gareth Hawkins* debut our second ever Buy-Side Breakdown*: a trio of freehold nurseries in North-West England (turnover £1.26 m, EBITDA £284 k, capacity 320). We dig into Ofsted rating…

Welcome to M&A Zing - the weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funders, and hold‑co builders across the UK & Europe. 🎧 THIS WEEK’S GUEST Rachel Murphy – two‑time tech founder (Progressus & Difrent, both exited), NHS‑App delivery lead, Ukraine aid volunteer, psychedelic‑retreat advocate (!) and now CEO of *The Grafter*, where she helps …

Welcome to **M&A Zing**—the weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funders, and holdco builders across the UK & Europe. In this episode, Alfie Lambert and Gareth Wilkins try out a new format called a “Buy-Side Breakdown.” They pick a real company listed for sale—a 30-year-old online tools retailer—and walk through its financials, risks, …

Welcome to another weekly recording of M&A Zing — the podcast for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funds, and holdco builders across the UK & Europe. In this episode, host Gareth Hawkins kicks off a new interview series featuring emerging searchers and established acquirers. Today, he sits down with Florian Wilisch, founder of Hamburg Ventures. Fl…

Welcome to another weekly recording of M&A Zing - the podcast for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funds, and holdco builders across the UK & Europe. In this episode, hosts Alfie Lambert* and Gareth Hawkins do a quickfire rundown of the key legal documents you’re likely to encounter in an SMB acquisition. From Letters of Intent and Heads of Terms …

Welcome to Episode 6 of M&A Zing - a weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funds, and holdco builders across the UK and Europe. In this episode, Alfie Lambert and Gareth Hawkins dive into the *Do’s & Don’ts of Due Diligence* for small and mid-sized M&A deals. They also highlight news from Italy’s newest search fund close, a Canadian inc…

Welcome to Episode 5 of M&A Zing - a weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funds, and holdco builders across the UK and Europe. In this episode, Alfie Lambert and Gareth Hawkins break down the *Top 10 reasons* why small & mid-market M&A deals fail. Plus, they kick off with big news about recent SBA policy changes in the US - and how it …

Welcome to Episode 4 of M&A Zing—a weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funds, and holdco builders in the UK and Europe. This time, co-founders Alfie Lambert and Gareth Hawkins discuss how to handle that all-important *first qualifying call* with a potential seller—from building trust to spotting red flags. Timestamps: [00:00:11] Intro…

Welcome to Episode 3 of M&A Zing—a weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search funds, and holdco builders in the UK and Europe. In this episode, we’re talking buy-and-build strategies, distressed acquisitions, and the ups and downs of leveraged deals with special guest Charlie Norton, founder of Vamos Business Transfer. *Episode Timestamps** …

Hosted by: Gareth Hawkins – CEO & Co-Founder at BizCrunch (exited founder, M&A investor) Alfie Lambert – Co-Founder & Head of Growth at BizCrunch (& resident outreach expert) In This Episode: • [00:18] Intro: Meet our hosts, Gareth Hawkins & Alfie Lambert (co-founder and Head of Growth at BizCrunch) • [02:03] UK & EU M&A News: Dean Curran's second …

Hosted by: Gareth Hawkins – CEO & Co-Founder at BizCrunch (exited founder, M&A investor) Adam Kempner – Managing Director at Coefficient In This Episode: • [00:00] – Intro to M&A Zing & Hosts • [01:50] – Major M&A Headlines (Clawback’s Big Acquisition) • [04:42] – Building a Diversified Portfolio vs. Single-Sector Focus • [07:38] – New UK Search Fu…