Liquidity for early investors and partners. Time for the business.

SapphireBlack provides liquidity to early investors and backers of search funds and self-funded searches across the UK and Europe. Through secondary purchases, we help investors sell their stake before an exit without requiring a sale or other recapitalisation event, and we enter the cap table as a long-term, aligned shareholder.

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Providing liquidity without changing the business plan

Search investors and partners underwrite to a planned exit, but many businesses are still growing, compounding, navigating markets or not yet ready for the original exit timeline. We want to bridge that gap.

Who we serve

Search Investors & Partners wanting liquidity

  • Single positions or several across a portfolio
  • Search capital step-ups and acquisition-round equity
  • Reasons are your own: personal circumstances, rebalancing, concentration or simply time
  • Handled confidentially, with no pressure on the company to sell
  • Certainty of funds confirmed with our indicative terms

Searchers & CEOs providing optionality

  • Provide investor liquidity without selling the company
  • Reset the shareholder time horizon
  • Our background is in owning and running operating businesses, so we understand the balance between running a company and investment timelines
  • We work alongside you, your board and existing partners for the best outcome
  • We only transact with the company's knowledge and within the shareholder agreements

Our criteria

Origin
Traditional search funds, self-funded searches and other ETA or entrepreneurial acquisitions and situations in the UK and Europe
Financials
Profitable, cash-generative companies
Position
Minority to majority stakes, from a single investor's holding to several investors together. Majority positions only with the support of the CEO
Instrument
Full capital stack from ordinary equity to senior loan notes
Size
£25K to £1M per position, larger by discussion. Smaller holdings considered alongside others
Approach
Long-term holder with no fixed exit date

Our process

  1. Send an outlineNo company name needed at first. A short outline is enough.
  2. NDA, then informationConfidentiality is protected before we look into the detail, in full compliance with company agreements.
  3. Indicative termsWe come back with a view on process, price, structure and due diligence.
  4. CompletionWe work with the company on consents and pre-emption rights so the sale completes cleanly.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell my search fund shares before the company is sold?

Yes. SapphireBlack buys minority and majority stakes from search fund and ETA investors, partners and limited partners (LPs) who want liquidity before an exit, within the terms of the company's shareholder and definitive agreements.

How can you buy out early investors without selling the company?

We buy the shares, loan notes or other instruments directly from those who want to sell, and we join the cap table as a long-term holder. The CEO and the business plan stay in place, so they can keep building the business while rewarding long-term partners with optionality.

What about transfer restrictions and pre-emption rights?

Most shareholder agreements include them. We work with the company and board on consents and pre-emption rights, and can buy several investors' holdings together where the agreement makes a single-holder sale difficult.

What size of holding do you consider?

£25K to £1M per position, larger by discussion. Smaller holdings can be combined with others.

Which search funds do you work with?

Traditional search funds, self-funded searches and other ETA or entrepreneurial acquisitions in the UK and Europe, where the business is profitable and cash-generative.

Start a conversation

Email us → or write to info@sapphireblack.co.uk

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