TrueValue M&A Network
Search fund specialists
The search fund model — an individual raises capital to search for one business, acquires it, and runs it — has its own ecosystem of investors, advisers and lenders who know the model and its rhythm.
Search fund specialists
Verified and featured professionals are listed first. Refine by location, sector or deal size.
What search fund specialists do
Search fund investors fund the search phase and then the acquisition, usually with the right to invest pro rata in the deal. Search fund advisers help a searcher structure the raise, build the investor group, screen and value targets, structure the acquisition and negotiate with the seller, and support the searcher-turned-operator after completion.
The model puts an unusual amount of weight on the searcher’s own judgement and on the fit between the searcher and the business, so specialists in this space spend as much time on the person as on the numbers.
When to engage them
Before the raise, to shape the search vehicle and the investor terms; during the search, for screening, valuation and the offer; and at the acquisition, for the funding structure and the transition. Many investors want to be involved from the first serious target onwards.
Usually active at
- Exploring
- Sourcing
- Evaluating a specific business
- Making or negotiating an offer
- In due diligence
- Completed
What they typically help with
- Structuring the search vehicle and investor terms
- Building and managing the investor group
- Screening, valuing and approaching targets
- Structuring the acquisition and the searcher’s equity
- Board support and operating advice after completion
Questions to ask before you engage
- 1. How many searches have you backed or advised, and how many reached an acquisition?
- 2. What are your terms for the search phase and for the acquisition?
- 3. What size and type of business do you think suits this search?
- 4. How involved are you after completion, and in what role?
- 5. What do you see searchers get wrong most often?
How search fund specialists are paid
Investors are compensated through their equity in the acquisition and the terms of the search capital; advisers through retainers, success fees or, where they also invest, through the deal itself. Ask how each party is aligned with the searcher’s outcome and where the interests diverge.
How TrueValue fits alongside
TrueValue was built with searchers in mind: an acquisition mandate that turns the criteria into numbers, target discovery against the Companies House register, CIM analysis that scores every memorandum against the mandate, and a deal model that shows the maximum price the investors’ return hurdles allow. See TrueValue for search funds.
Frequently asked
What is a search fund?
- An investment vehicle in which one or two individuals raise capital from investors to fund a search for a single business to acquire and run. The investors typically have the right to invest in the acquisition, and the searcher earns equity through the deal and its performance.
What size of business do search funds buy?
- Most UK searches target established, profitable businesses in the low millions of EBITDA with an owner looking to retire and a management team that can be built or strengthened. Individual investor groups have their own ranges.
Do search funds use debt?
- Commonly, alongside the investor equity and often a vendor loan or deferred consideration. Lenders familiar with the model are listed under acquisition finance and commercial lenders in this network.
Listings in the TrueValue M&A Network are provided for information. A listing is not an endorsement or a recommendation, and TrueValue does not guarantee any professional’s performance. You must carry out your own due diligence before engaging anyone, verify regulated status independently with the relevant regulator, and seek qualified legal, financial and tax advice where appropriate.