The businesses we buy
Businesses worth carrying forward.
Established, profitable UK businesses with healthy cash generation, capable management and a reputation earned over time.
What they have in common
Substance, not labels.
- 01
A proven business
A successful trading history, dependable profits, healthy cash generation and a model that has stood the test of time.
- 02
Customers who value it
Loyal or recurring customers, a reputation for quality, and products or services that meet a lasting need.
- 03
A clear place in its market
Specialist knowledge, technical capability others cannot easily match, accreditation, or a position that is hard to win.
- 04
People who know it
Experienced employees and a management team who could run the business without the owner in the room. We expect to keep them, back them and reward them for what they build.
- 05
A future to build on
Scope to continue developing, supported by sensible plans rather than speculative forecasts.
What we are buying
A company, not a set of numbers.
Accounts tell you whether a business has been run well. They do not tell you why customers stayed through a bad year, or which two people everyone goes to when something goes wrong, or what the name over the door is worth in that particular town.
That is most of what we are buying, and none of it appears on a balance sheet.
Which is why we are not going to list the industries we like. The businesses that interest us have very little in common on paper. They have a great deal in common in how they are run.
Situations
Circumstances we understand.
Retirement
An owner who has decided the time is right, and wants the company to be properly looked after afterwards.
Succession
No family successor, or a next generation with different plans, and a business that deserves to continue regardless.
De-risking
An owner with most of their wealth tied up in one company who would like to take value off the table.
A staged exit
Selling now, staying involved for an agreed period, and handing over properly rather than overnight.
Shareholder change
Partners or family shareholders whose plans have diverged, where one side wishes to exit.
Management continuity
A capable team that should keep running the business, alongside an owner who is ready to step back.
Fit
When we are probably not the right buyer.
Better said here than after three meetings.
- Start-ups and businesses that are not yet profitable. We are not a venture investor.
- Companies in distress. Turnarounds and insolvency processes need a different kind of buyer.
- Businesses that would leave with their owner, where every customer relationship and technical decision sits with one person. Sometimes this can be worked through, and it is worth raising early.
- Businesses headquartered outside the United Kingdom, though international operations within a UK company are welcome.
For advisers
You will get a straight answer, quickly.
Send a teaser or information memorandum to enquiries@orenventures.co.uk. We review and sign non-disclosure agreements quickly, and we do not negotiate them at length.
If a business is not for us, you will hear that within a few working days, with the reason attached. If it is, we will engage properly and tell you how we are thinking about value early rather than late.
We do not publish rigid size thresholds, because the businesses we like rarely arrive in a convenient bracket. We are glad to discuss scale, structure and funding on the first call.
We are a principal buyer, funded from our own capital together with acquisition debt. There is no investment committee elsewhere to convince, so there are fewer stages between an indicative offer and completion.
If that sounds like your company, you will know within a few minutes of talking to us whether it is worth taking further. So will we.
Start a conversation