Greater Toronto Area · $1–4M EBITDA · Operator-led

A good home for the business you built.

Experienced enough to run it. Energetic enough to chase it.

Merwood Partners is a pair of owner-operators acquiring one established, profitable business in the Greater Toronto Area, generally $1–4M of EBITDA. We devote 100% of our daily focus to your company. We buy to own, operate, and personally run the business ourselves for the long term, meaning your legacy gets our undivided attention, not a corner of a massive corporate, or private equity, portfolio.

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Our Approach

We're not a search fund. We're two mid-career operators buying a business to run and build on ourselves.

What makes us different isn't a deck of bullet points. It's that we are operators, not financiers. While institutional PE firms look to buy dozens of companies, we are only buying one. We make decisions quickly, we step directly into the office, and we plan to spend the rest of our careers running the business we buy. Your team and customers get our full-time commitment, not a rotating door of corporate managers.

i.

Permanent capital.
No clock.

We aren't running a fund with a five-year clock or a scheduled exit. We buy to own and operate for the long term. The business will have a single owner, us, for as long as we're the right people to run and grow it.

ii.

Operators,
not financiers.

With 30+ years of combined senior leadership experience at KPMG and BMO, we've run teams, budgets, and complex projects. We step directly into leadership, preserving what already works and investing carefully in growth. We are bringing that institutional-grade experience to bear on a single focus: your company, every single day.

iii.

Built around
the seller.

We move quickly and decisively. Whether it's deal structure, your ongoing involvement, or anything else that matters to you, we shape the deal to fit your life, not the other way around.

We understand that your business represents more than financial value. It represents relationships, responsibilities, and a legacy built over years of hard work. Our job is to honour that.

On stewardship
What we're looking for

A stable, cash-generating business with a story worth continuing.

We start with size and geography, then look for straightforward, profitable businesses with loyal customers and capable people. We're open across most sectors. Here's the profile that matters.

Size
  • EBITDA of $1–4M annually
  • Profitability with consistent, positive cash flow
  • Track record of demonstrated stability over 5+ years
Geography
  • Businesses in and around the Greater Toronto Area
  • Within a 90-minute drive of midtown Toronto
  • Close enough to stay hands-on, day to day
Business
  • A straightforward business model we can understand
  • Established competitive and market positions
  • Consistent, predictable cash flows
  • A diversified customer base with repeat business
  • Not distressed; we aren't looking for turnarounds
Owner
  • Considering retirement, a reduced role, or transition, without an identified successor
  • Demonstrated readiness to sell
  • A capable, long-tenured management team or employee base
  • Open to a thoughtful handover, not a rushed exit
Sector
  • Open-minded: we lead with size and geography, not industry
  • Stable or growing end-markets that hold up through cycles
  • Not dependent on rapid technological change to stay relevant
Interest areas

A few areas we're interested in.

If a business fits our size and geography, we're interested, whatever the sector. These are simply the areas our thinking naturally gravitates toward.

Primary interests

Commercial & Industrial Property & Building Services

Snow & ice Landscaping / grounds Window washing Waste removal Carpets / janitorial Parkade maintenance HVAC Electrical Emergency & back-up power
Secondary interests

Specialized & professional services

Health & wellness

Pet care

Travel

How it works

A simple, respectful process

We know your time is valuable and your information is sensitive. Here's how a conversation with us typically unfolds, from hello to handover.

i. Weeks 0–2

Introduction

  • A no-pressure intro call
  • Assess strategic fit and objectives
  • High-level information exchange
  • Confidentiality agreement
ii. Weeks 2–6

Evaluation

  • Management meetings
  • A discreet site visit
  • Preliminary financial review
  • Initial deal structure & LOI
iii. Weeks 6–14

Due diligence

  • Detailed financial review
  • Legal & operational diligence
  • Finalize deal structure
  • Clear, steady communication
iv. Closing

Close & transition

  • Sign definitive agreements
  • Transfer of funds
  • Hands-on management transition
  • A handover that honours the work
Start a conversation
Questions we get

Things owners and intermediaries often ask.

No. Search funds are typically searchers raising capital to buy a company and exit within a handful of years. We're established operators buying a business to run ourselves for the long term. We deploy our own capital and we're not on an exit clock.

With our own capital, alongside conventional bank financing, which lets us move quickly and give you certainty on close. We're the ones at the table, so you're dealing directly with the decision-makers throughout.

Faster than most strategic buyers. A typical process runs 10–14 weeks from introduction to close, but we adapt to your pace, not ours. If speed matters, we can match it. If you'd prefer to take your time, we'll take it with you.

We preserve what works. Long-tenured employees, supplier relationships, customer relationships, the name above the door: these are the reasons the business is worth buying. Our thesis is stewardship, not restructuring.

Directly and respectfully. We sign NDAs promptly, respond within the business day, and give clear, honest feedback on fit, with no ghosting and no slow-walking. If it's not a fit, we'll tell you why. If it is, we'll move.

We steer away from distressed turnarounds, businesses built around a single key person who's unwilling to transition, heavy cyclical exposure, and anything facing imminent technological disruption. Everything else we'll look at on its merits.

A 30-minute call, with no teaser or formal deck required. We ask about the business, you ask about us, and we both leave knowing whether the next conversation is worth having.

Get in touch

If you think we might be a fit, we'd like to hear from you.

A first conversation is always informal, confidential, and without obligation. We'd rather learn about the business from you than from a teaser.

Email us directly
General [email protected]
Office Toronto, Ontario