The serial-acquirer model has built enduring businesses in Sweden and across Europe. In Australia, it’s still incredibly early. We think the timing is ideal: a fragmented SME market, very few institutional buyers at this end of the market, a generation of owners starting to think about succession and the fact that good Australian SMEs can be acquired at around 3–4.5x EBITDA. We, Patron Companies, are following the classic holdco model: buy profitable businesses, keep local management in place and reinvest the cash they generate into further acquisitions. We intend to own the businesses for the long term. Our current plan contemplates an IPO around year 10 as a potential liquidity pathway for investors. So far, we’ve completed two platform acquisitions in the essential services space, Seal-A-Fridge and Parmic Fire Protection plus a strategic bolt-on. We have another business under exclusivity and are aiming to close before year-end. Who we are: Adrian Warner, HBS MBA, bringing more than 30 years of investment experience across the US, Asia-Pacific and Australia. I bring hands-on experience founding, building and operating small businesses. Our first-round investor base includes HBS and Wharton alumni, as well as senior people from leading private equity firms. This round: We’re raising A$6 million in this second round and keen to speak with overseas and of course local, investors interested in Australia and long-term, acquisition-led compounding. *The raise is open only to investors who meet the applicable Australian wholesale / sophisticated investor requirements set by ASIC. Message me if you’d like to learn more & receive a copy of our IM.