Ethos Partners
At a Glance
A British acquisition round's lead when the target clears its floor; not a search backer, and it says so by what it publishes.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Investment terms, not fees. Its criteria page publishes 3 to 10 million pounds per deal at 1.5 million pounds of EBITDA and enterprise values of 5 to 30 million; its investor page says individuals invest from 25,000 pounds without upfront fees and that the firm puts over 200,000 pounds of its own into each deal. Nothing on the searcher's economics.
- Best For
- A searcher buying a British company past 1.5 million pounds of EBITDA who needs the acquisition round led from London, with the search budget covered elsewhere
- Track Record
- Established in 2017 when an earlier firm's partners divided into two sister businesses, by its own release; nineteen companies backed and a 2.7 times realized return net of fees on two pages, four exits at 2.9 times on a third, eighteen portfolio pages.
- Lane
- Traditional
- Funds
- The deal only
- Based
- London.
- Invests
- Established British companies, with one French deal on its portfolio.
- Buys
- Companies at 1.5 million pounds of EBITDA or more and enterprise values of 5 to 30 million pounds, in buyouts, acquisitions, growth capital and succession deals; it avoids more than a quarter of revenue from one customer or supplier.
- Before A First Call
- One form at the foot of every page for investors and owners alike, asking a name, an email, an age confirmation and how the reader heard of the firm. No named partner, no searcher route, and no condition on the person beyond the footer's risk warning to investors.
- First-Time Operators
- Criteria about the COMPANY and one line about people, ambitious management teams and experienced CEOs, which describes a team it backs and gates nobody; the two searcher deals name the operator and say nothing about a first purchase.
- How Long The Search Runs
- No length on the search and nothing about what happens if it ends without a deal, on the pages this review read. Ask what the clock is before you sign anything.
- Published Terms
- 3 to 10 million pounds per deal, its own money beside individual investors who join from 25,000 pounds without upfront fees, over 200,000 pounds of the firm's own in each deal, a three to five year target hold. Nothing on the searcher's side.
- What A Searcher Gets
- Not published on the pages this review read. It is the figure a searcher most wants and most of this shelf does not print it, so ask before the first call rather than after.
- Roadmap Stages
- 1. Learn & Choose Your Path3. Set Up & Fund the Search
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Publishes a full criteria set, size, EBITDA floor, enterprise value band and the transaction types it backs, which almost nothing on this shelf does
- Names the incoming operator on its search capital pages, once as the principals of a French search fund and once as a management buy-in led by a searcher
- A regulated firm with a stated target hold of three to five years and its own money in every deal, on its own pages
Cons
- British companies, with one French deal, and no page offers search-phase capital
- Its own counts disagree: nineteen companies and a 2.7 times realized return on two pages, four exits at 2.9 times on a third, and eighteen portfolio pages against five under its realized tab
- Search fund words appear on two portfolio pages and one release out of eighty-six; its own words for its lane are buyouts and succession sales
What Searchers Say
Read whole from its sitemap: eighteen portfolio pages with an entry month and an operator named on most, forty posts, and a risk warning to investors in the footer of every page.
How to Approach
Firms do not publish a term sheet you can prepare against, so this is how traditional (investor-backed) search capital comes in, what it weighs, and how to arrive ready.
The Typical Arc
- A first conversation on your background and why search, before any deal.
- A deep dive on your plan: industries, criteria, and how you will source.
- Backing for the search itself, then a fresh underwrite when you bring a live deal.
- A board seat and governance once you close.
What It Weighs
- Whether you will finish a two-year search, not only start one.
- The quality of your thesis and target criteria.
- How you will behave on a cap table over a long hold.
How to Prepare
- Bring a sourcing thesis, not a blank slate. Buyer Profile Builder
- Know which firms lead versus follow, and on what terms. Investors
- Make your operator case on one page. Buyer Profile Builder