Best funding routes for a first UK acquisition, what worked for you?

March 16, 2026

by a searcher from Imperial College London - Imperial College Business School in Wakefield, UK

I'm an independent sponsor building a buy-and-build in UK supply chain and logistics recruitment. Targeting profitable, founder-led businesses at £1-3M revenue / £200-700k EBITDA. Raising £1M equity, targeting close by May 2026. I've now got a shortlisted pipeline of live targets, so the deal is real and moving. What I'm looking for is the funding to get it over the line. Would love to hear from others who've closed their first deal: •⁠ ⁠What funding routes worked? Family office, HNWI, search fund investors, bank debt, vendor loan? •⁠ ⁠Any UK-specific lenders or investors worth speaking to? •⁠ ⁠What did investors actually need to see before committing? Happy to share what I've learned so far in return. DM or comment below.

Reply by a searcher
from Imperial College London in London, UK

Very business-dependent, but I’ve struggled to make bank debt work on deals of this size. Some family offices can also see it as too small. The most workable structure I’ve seen is usually equity from HNWIs or a small investor syndicate, plus meaningful seller financing, with debt as a bonus if you can get it.

Reply by a searcher
in Cambridge, UK

Thanks for the tag. Investors are going to want to see details of the acquisition itself before they will be able to give you any feedback. This includes the target business financials, acquisition structure and investment terms, plus information about you and your vision. At that size of business commercial cashflow lending is going to be tough but it would be reasonable to expect some risk sharing (note/earnout) by the seller.

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