Acquiring Exceptional SMEs

Next Steps Capital is a boutique private equity house that acquires and invests in mature SMEs in the UK and channel islands.

For owners, we provide an exit opportunity to leave their legacy in safe hands, realise capital and alleviate the stress of owning a business whilst being assured the heritage of their brand an staff will be protected.

And for investors, we offer the opportunity to invest in exceptional businesses with clear growth potential, led by experienced operators.

Our Approach.

We research, analyse and investment in businesses that can demonstrate:

Clear product market fit
Strong operational practices
Consistency of returning clients and low churn.
Barriers to entry and competitve moat.

As experienced operators, we only invest in businesses that we have a clear understanding of both operationally and financially. We evaluate what the product is, who the customer is, why the customer buys it and the unit economics behind these factors.

We focus on growing revenue and supporting existing operations to create an environment where a business can sustainably grow in it's niche over the long term.

We are not short term holders, we evaluate businesses on an investment horizon of 10+ years.

We thrive at working inside our invested businesses alongside existing senior management teams, establishing processes and a technical stacks to track and deliver to targets.

We believe in long-term sustainable growth over rapid, unpredictable growth that can disrupte the team and core business functions.

We set and track targets across company functions through an OKR frameworks.

Our Team

Our sector focus.

We evaluate the merits and investment case of the individual business and how it relates to the wider sector and our ability to operate in that sector. With SMEs, we believe diversifity across sectors offers opportunity and synergies amongst a portfolio.

We have a particular interest in Business services, Manufacturing & Design, and Professional Services.

Business Services

We invest in scalable ancillary service platforms that deliver essential outsourced solutions to businesses.
Our focus is on long-term client relationships, recurring revenue models and opportunities for technology-enabled growth and operational efficiences.

Manufacturing & Design

We back niche design-led manufacturers who can demonstrate defensible IP, market & supply-chain resilience in their sector, with long term contracts. We back industry leaders who can demonstrate they've invested in the maintenance of their product.

Our Investment Thesis.

We acquire and invest in SMEs that meet the following criteria:

EBITDA of £750k - £5 Million
Based in UK or Channel Islands
Industry focus: Ancillery business services, manufacturing & design.
Track record of stable, sustainable revenue for 5+ years.
Mature business at least 15 years old.
Must be selling to facilitate retirement for owner/founder.
Senior management team already in place.
Selling a majority stake of 70-100% of the business

For any opportunities that meet our investment criteria, please contact the team using the form below.