Operating under the Corner Capital brand, our Private Equity division generates healthy returns for investors by providing growth capital to ambitious SME founders whose businesses are optimised by our Corporate Advisory division.
Who we help
Our model focuses on high-growth companies with a track record of year-on-year growth.
We help Australian and New Zealander growing SMEs with EBITDA between $1m – $10m and an equity cheque of $5m to $15m+. They are typically owner-operator, founder-owned, or family-owned businesses that are open to minority or majority transactions.
We are not a turnaround, debt, or start-up/venture fund.
What our Private Equity clients say
The team provided invaluable advice and support through the acquisition of my business. As an investor and partner in the business, they continue to provide strategic guidance and have played an active role in our growth.
Our approach
Flexible ‘partnership’ approach
Our preferred ownership involvement is 25% to 60%. We have a strong preference for conservative balance sheets.
Focus on growth
We emphasise sound business principles, insightful growth strategies, and hands-on value creation.
Patient investment horizon
It is well known that leveraged capital structures are centred on short-term profits and a ‘quick flip’ mentality. We partner for the long term, and seek to collaboratively grow revenue in order to maximise value over time. We often enter partnerships where the founder and/or management team stays in play.
Aligned incentives
No fees are imposed on partner companies as we focus on internal cultural alignment.
We’ve been on your end
Many Private Equity providers have never started or run a growing business, let alone been involved in its sale. Our Investment Team has.
Sourcing
One of the challenges facing Private Equity providers is sourcing the right deals and getting in front of the right people. They will typically participate in auctions run by corporate advisors, and have rarely developed any strong relationships with the trusted advisors of SMEs – which are often their accountants. Unlike them, we can lean on our network of BG Private accountants.
Leverage buyouts
Traditional Private Equity typically requires 90% ownership and Board control meaning the Founder typically ‘checks out’. This can mean that – irrespective of how good an opportunity is – if a Founder is only interested in a minority partner, then traditional Private Equity will miss out. In addition, in the classic setup a large level of debt is often introduced, which can bring challenges when economic conditions change, impacting the returns achievable.
Financial engineering
Consistent with the above, profits are largely based on leverage, cost-cutting, and various other financial tactics, hence there is often a strong focus on investing in business models that can support large debt burdens.
What we do
- Estate planning. Providing owner operators the ability to take some ‘chips out’ and diversify their estate.
- Growth financing. Creating flexible capital solutions for high-growth SMEs – often as a minority partner.
- Succession planning. Facilitating staged exits for owner operators in a manner that maximises equity value.
- Strategic partnership. Partnering SMEs to help execute strategic objectives in a way that maximises long-term value.
- Management buy-outs. Facilitating management-led buyouts of non-active shareholders.
- Acquisition financing. Helping SMEs identify, execute, finance, and integrate strategic acquisitions.
- Process support. Our team can help manage the various aspects of a transaction including capital raising, valuation, tax planning, integration etc.
Meet our Private Equity team
These are members of the senior team leading our broader Private Equity team.
Why choose us
- Our team have direct experience in investing, corporate strategy, operations, and general management, meaning we can give you holistic advice
- We have founded and grown highly successful companies in Australia and New Zealand
- We can leverage the experience of our Accounting & Business Advisory team and our partners at BG Private Clients and Modoras who have been successfully advising SMEs for more than 40 years
Our client partners
We focus first and foremost on investing in exceptional Founders and then the right businesses.
Get in touch
Our Private Equity team is ready to sit down with you and talk about all the ways we can work together.
Contact us
