Our Thesis
Most lower middle market investors win on sector. We win on place. Southern California holds one of the densest concentrations of family and founder-owned businesses in America — in the country’s most complex operating environment. Employment law, regulatory load, licensure, permitting, tax, and politics shape every deal here, and they are the single variable out-of-state buyers most consistently underestimate.
We don’t underestimate it. California is not a complication we accept. It is the terrain we know best. We invest across sectors because at the lower middle market, discipline about geography matters more than discipline about sector. We take the right deal elsewhere when it comes — and we’re honest that our edge is sharpest at home.
Where We Invest
Not sector specialties we claim to own. Areas where our experience is deepest, and where the Southern California opportunity is richest.
Business & Commercial Services
Recurring-revenue services with embedded customer relationships. Professional services — accounting, ERP, consulting, compliance, engineering — and route-based and facility services including landscaping, pest control, janitorial, and HVAC. Capital-light. Relationship-driven. Built over years.
Healthcare Services
Non-discretionary care: pharmacies, long-term and post-acute care, behavioral health, and ancillary services for patients who cannot defer treatment. California’s licensure and reimbursement environment rewards operators who know it — and creates friction for those who don’t.
Manufacturing & Industrial
Niche and advanced manufacturers with specialized capabilities. Tier II and Tier III suppliers to aerospace, defense, and regulated end-markets. Businesses where technical depth and lead time matter more than price.
The California Edge
California is the most complex operating environment in the country. For buyers who parachute in, that’s a problem. For us, it’s where we compete.
AB 5, wage-and-hour, PAGA, classification risk. The places out-of-state buyers misprice diligence and run into problems post-close. We’ve worked through these on real transactions. Fewer surprises for the seller. Fewer disruptions for the team.
Prop 65, CCPA, Cal/OSHA, CEQA, licensure, permitting. Staying current on California regulation is a full-time job. We’re current. What national buyers learn in the six months after close is already in our underwriting.
Operating here means tracking a policy environment that moves every session. Our networks keep us close to the issues affecting our target sectors — and give us access to the advisors and counsel who specialize in navigating them.
The best lower middle market deals in Southern California move through relationships, not auctions. CPAs, attorneys, wealth advisors, lenders, trade associations, operators who’ve known each other for decades. We’re inside those networks. That’s how our best deals begin.
What We Look For
Size. $2M–$10M EBITDA. Profitable. Cash-generating.
Ownership. Family or founder-owned. Built by the people still running it.
Economics. Capital-light. Moat built on relationships, recurring demand, or specialized capability — not heavy assets or commodity exposure.
Anchor. Southern California first. The right deal elsewhere gets a fair look.
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