We intend to own it for decades more.
Selling a business you have built over 20 or 30 years is one of the biggest decisions you will make. Most buyers are already planning what happens after they sell it. Spark is different. We buy businesses to own them permanently, we already own and run two of them, and we have no plan to sell yours.
Will you sell my company later?
Our intention is permanent ownership. Spark has no fund, no investors waiting for an exit and no timetable to sell. That is the whole point of how we are set up.
Will everyone lose their jobs?
We buy businesses because of their people and what they know. We are not buying to strip costs. Roles can change as any business grows, but continuity of the team is usually the reason a business is worth buying in the first place.
Do I need to stay?
That depends on you and the business. Some owners want to hand over and go. Some want to stay for a year or two. Some want to keep running the business with a permanent owner behind them. We structure the transition around the circumstances rather than a template.
Will you change the name?
Not automatically, and usually not at all. A strong business should keep the identity and the customer relationships that made it successful. Ultralift Australia and Westberg Sheetmetal still trade under their own names.
Do you actually operate businesses?
Yes. Spark owns and runs Ultralift Australia and Westberg Sheetmetal from a manufacturing site in Heidelberg West, Melbourne. Since taking ownership we have invested in laser cutting and folding capacity, in-house powder coating, welding automation, a production throughput system and a rebuilt sales and management team. Come and walk the floor.
What businesses do you buy?
Established Australian industrial businesses with durable cash earnings, capable people, strong customer relationships and a defensible position. Manufacturing, fabrication, engineering, industrial products, specialised industrial services and similar.
How big?
We buy across a range, from specialist bolt-ons that fit alongside something we already own through to substantial standalone companies. We care more about the quality of the business than about whether it fits a size bracket. If you are not sure, the answer is a conversation.
How quickly can you move?
Quickly. You will be talking to the person who makes the decision from the first call. Once we have basic financials we can usually tell you within a few weeks whether we are a fit and what a deal could look like.
You tell us about the business, what you want and when. No NDA needed to start, no obligation.
Share your recent financials and we will come back with a preliminary view. We will tell you early if we are not the right home.
A clear, non-binding letter setting out how we see value and how a transaction could be structured.
We do the work ourselves with a small number of advisers, and we keep it proportionate to the business.
Planned with you, on a timetable that suits the business and your circumstances.
Day 1
The business keeps trading. Your team and your customers deal with the same people.
First months
We listen. We learn how the business works before we change anything.
First year
We invest where the business needs it: equipment, systems, training, sales capability.
Every year after
A stronger business, still under its own name, with a permanent owner behind it.
Spark is based in Melbourne and our operating businesses are in Heidelberg West. We know Victorian manufacturing well and we are in our own factory every week.
We are also building an Australian group, so a good business in another state is a business we want to hear about.
We do not need an NDA to have a first conversation, and we treat what you tell us as confidential from that point. If we are not the right fit we will tell you plainly, and your information stays with us.
Will Strange · Founder and CEO, Spark Equity
Melbourne, Victoria
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