Martell Capital Partners
At a Glance
The clearest published statement anywhere here that a firm pays for the search itself, which is the question a searcher with no savings asks first.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Investment terms, not fees. No fee is charged to a searcher; what the firm publishes about its own side is in the row.
- Best For
- A searcher in any of the three models, particularly outside the United States, who needs a backer that funds the search itself rather than only the deal.
- Track Record
- Founded 2022 by its own team pages. Forty-six searchers backed since inception, thirty-seven companies acquired, six board seats and three realized exits on its home page, the searcher count dated to the second quarter of 2026 on a founder's page. Its own per-country cards add to thirty-nine and thirty-six, its board seats read six, five and four on three surfaces, and its exit tags number two.
- Lane
- Traditional, Self-Funded
- Funds
- The search phase and the deal
- Based
- Coral Gables, Florida.
- Invests
- Seven countries on its portfolio filter, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, each with a card on its home page, Brazil's counting three searchers and no company; a founder's page says primarily North America.
- Buys
- An enterprise value range that describes the asset class rather than this firm. It sits under a heading for investors and answers what a search fund acquisition typically costs, with a categorical verb. Reading it as a target would put the field's average under one firm's name.
- Before A First Call
- A form whose own selector asks whether the searcher wants funding for a traditional search fund, or equity for a gap or a deal already under letter of intent, with Other as the third choice. That is a routing question rather than a condition, and it is unusually useful because it publishes the two shapes the firm expects.
- First-Time Operators
- A profile and not a bar: it names drive, resourcefulness, work ethic, business acumen and the ability to build trust with sellers, employees and investors, adding that ideal candidates have a demonstrated track record of leadership and adaptability. A track record of leadership names no role, no years and no kind of company, so there is still no requirement to have run anything.
- 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
- No check size, stake or fee on the pages this review read. Most firms on this shelf publish none, so ask early rather than late.
- 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.
- After The Close
- Expects monthly or quarterly reports on progress, challenges and finances, and joins some boards; the five to ten years on its investor FAQ answers how long a search fund investment typically lasts.
- Roadmap Stages
- 3. Set Up & Fund the Search
Pros and Cons
Pros
- States that it funds operational expenses during the search phase, which most backers leave implied
- Publishes a portfolio broken down by country, with a seven-country filter and cards under six of them
- Its intake form asks whether the searcher needs funding for a traditional search fund or equity for a gap or a deal under letter of intent
Cons
- Its own per-country figures add to fewer searchers and companies than its headline counts
- Its address and its prose disagree about which city it is in
- The enterprise value range on its site describes what search fund acquisitions cost generally, not what this firm targets
What Searchers Say
Named as a backer on the rosters of five separate searchers. Its own home page links a second backer on this shelf as a strategic partner, which is how that firm was found. Its team pages date the firm's founding to 2022.
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