Average deal size, measured by enterprise value, of NCA acquisitions.
Operator-Led Buy-Out Program · Part-time search
Your next chapter.
Your own business.
Acquire an established, profitable business from an owner ready to retire and lead it as owner-CEO, backed by NCA's capital, expertise and deal support. Keep your current role while you search: NCA sources and validates the companies, and you meet the owners.
Join full-time once an NCA-approved letter of intent is signed or, if you choose, after the quality of earnings review and commercial due diligence. At closing, become CEO and lead the acquired business.
Typically 15+ yearsof professional experience.
A new chapter ahead.
A new chapter ahead.
$3–8M EBITDA
An established, profitable company in the lower middle market.
Succession
A founder-owner ready to step back and pass on the legacy.
Owner-CEO
You lead the business, with NCA co-investing and supporting you.
The program at a glance
Search part-time.
Lead at closing.
See how Part-Time Search works, from the first meeting with an owner to closing, in under two minutes.
Explore Part-Time Search in 110 seconds, or read the text version below.
Read the film as text
- You know how to run a company. What if you could own one, without leaving your role to find it?
- NCA Operator-Led Buy-Out Program. Part-Time Search. Keep your role. NCA finds the company.
- How Part-Time Search works: NCA sources. You meet. We negotiate together. NCA finds and validates: NCA’s Business Development team sources companies through its database, broker partners and network, and validates each one against the Investment Criteria. You meet the owners: you attend meetings with companies in your sector and region, and you’re expected to search too, outside your working hours. You negotiate together: each deal is negotiated jointly by you, NCA and the seller. You bring the future CEO’s view; NCA brings valuation, structuring, financing and legal. NCA prioritises Part-Time Searchers by industry and region, and avoids two with a similar profile in the same area.
- Your path to owner-CEO: part-time until the LOI, then all in. Join: enrol, and keep your current role. Meet: meet owners of companies NCA has sourced and validated. Negotiate: jointly, with NCA and the seller. Sign the LOI: join full-time, or keep your role until due diligence is done. Close and lead: about six months to closing, then you lead as owner-CEO.
- The companies: established, profitable, founder-owned. $3–8M EBITDA, in the lower middle market. $10–30M enterprise value of target companies. $17M average deal size (enterprise value) of NCA acquisitions.
- Program fees: simple and transparent. A one-time enrollment fee of 5,000 plus an annual program fee of 5,000 per year, in USD, EUR or GBP. The enrollment fee and the first annual fee are both due at enrollment. No fees at LOI. No monthly fees.
- What you put in counts double: your fees become your investment. Fees and your investment of up to 50,000 become up to 100,000 of equity in the company at closing, at a 2× step-up. Rather keep your job until due diligence is done? Invest 25,000 at LOI. It counts toward the cap, and carries over if a deal doesn’t close. Same amounts in USD, EUR and GBP. One cap across a first and second deal. The step-up applies only if an acquisition closes.
- As owner-CEO: lead it and share in the upside. Up to 20% carried interest: 10% at closing, up to 10% more as investor returns grow. About $250K base salary as CEO, up to 10% of the company’s EBITDA. Co-invest: optional, alongside investors and on the same terms.
- Good to know: clear terms, no surprises. No obligation if a deal doesn’t close: you’re not required to go full-time, and your fees and any investment carry over to a later deal. No living expenses from NCA: the Transaction Budget covers deal costs through closing. Plan for a 24-month search: you can end the relationship at the end of any 12-month term.
- NCA’s track record since 2019: a proven platform behind you. 32 transactions closed, 70+ searchers backed, $550M+ enterprise value, 11 countries.
- Own. Lead. Build. Start your search without leaving your role.
- Your next chapter starts with a conversation. Learn more about NCA’s Part-Time Search at novastone-ca.com. Europe: Andrea Gaia Botton, Assessment Center · Director, agb@novastone-ca.com. USA & Canada: Blair Late, People & Culture · Executive Director, blair.late@novastone-ca.com. For information only. Not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security or interest. Participation is subject to acceptance by NCA and definitive documentation. The step-up and carried interest apply only if an acquisition closes; outcomes are not guaranteed. Track record figures are historical; past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Step-up on fees and your investment, up to 50,000 in total, only if the acquisition closes.
Average time from LOI to closing.
Carried interest as owner-CEO, subject to program terms.
From experience to ownership
A clear path.
A deliberate transition.
NCA finds and validates the companies, you meet the owners, and together you negotiate the path to closing.
Join the program
Selection takes about eight weeks. No investment thesis is required: your sector and region are agreed with NCA, and you keep your current role.
NCA sources and validates
NCA’s Business Development team sources companies in your sector and region and validates each one against the Investment Criteria. You search too, outside your working hours.
Meet & negotiate
Meet the owners, then negotiate the LOI jointly with NCA and the seller once NCA approves the opportunity.
Go full-time
Join full-time when the NCA-approved LOI is signed, or within 30 days of a clean quality of earnings review and commercial due diligence.
Acquire & lead
Close the deal, typically financed by Novastone Partners, co-investors and acquisition debt, and lead as CEO.
Program economics
Clear terms.
Shared upside.
What you commit, what NCA commits and how value is shared when an acquisition closes. Amounts are in USD, EUR or GBP.
Program participation.
Keep your current role while NCA sources and validates companies in your sector and region. Your fees give you access to NCA's origination, validation, training, deal support and network.
5,000One-time enrollment fee
5,000Annual program fee
Both fees are due at enrollment and cover the first 12 months. Plan for a 24-month search; you can end the relationship at the end of any 12-month term. No fees at or after LOI.
Choose how you go full-time.
Both routes lead to the same position at closing, which takes around six months on average. NCA and/or NCA-sponsored capital funds a Transaction Budget for eligible deal costs to closing; it has no step-up and does not cover living expenses. The purchase of the company is financed separately, typically by Novastone Partners alongside co-investors and acquisition debt.
2× step-up on fees and investment
Program fees and your investments, at LOI or at closing, are credited at closing at a 2× step-up as participating preferred equity: up to 50,000 in total, or 100,000 of equity. One cap applies across a first and, if it does not close, a second NCA-approved transaction, including amounts carried over. The step-up applies only if an acquisition closes.
Up to 20% carried interest
10% vests at acquisition, with up to a further 10% vesting as investor net IRR rises from 20% to 35%. Final allocations and conditions are governed by the definitive program documents.
Diligence Start: risk and refund.
- Clean QofE and completed commercial due diligence
- You join full-time within 30 days, as set out in your Commitment Letter.
- QofE not clean: adjusted EBITDA more than 10% below the LOI
- You are released from your commitment without penalty. Your investment carries over as if the transaction had not closed.
- The transaction does not close
- Your investment is lost, but it carries over to a next NCA-approved transaction that closes within 24 months while you remain in the Program, and then receives the 2× step-up.
- NCA itself decides not to proceed
- If NCA decides not to proceed after a clean QofE and completed commercial due diligence, your investment is refunded.
Investments are subject to subscription documentation and investor eligibility requirements in your jurisdiction.
Co-investment is optional.
Above the cap, you may also invest in the acquisition alongside NCA and its co-investors, on investor terms, without a step-up.
These general terms are summarized in the Part-Time Search brochure (November 2026) for informational purposes only. This is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security or interest. Participation is subject to acceptance by NCA and definitive documentation. The step-up and carried interest apply only if an acquisition closes; outcomes are not guaranteed.
NCA's support
Your ambition.
NCA's expertise.
NCA’s Business Development team finds and validates the companies; NCA then supports you across the work needed to complete an acquisition and lead what comes after.
- Sourcing & validation
- Valuation
- Structuring
- Negotiation
- Due diligence
- Financing
- Legal execution
- Governance
- CEO transition
- Value creation
Is this your next move?
You have the experience.
Bring the conviction.
For accomplished executives ready to acquire and lead a business in a sector and region they know.
Discuss your background- A proven track record of leadership and management
- Typically 15+ years of professional and operational experience
- A defined sector and realistic geographic focus, agreed with NCA
- An established network in your target market
- Availability to search part-time and meet potential targets
- Readiness to go full-time at LOI, or after the QofE and commercial due diligence
- Commitment to become CEO and lead the acquired business
Before you begin
The questions
worth asking.
When do I need to leave my current role?
You keep your role during the search. With LOI Start, you join full-time once an NCA-approved letter of intent is signed. With Diligence Start, you invest 25,000 at LOI and commit to join full-time within 30 days of a clean quality of earnings review and completed commercial due diligence.
Who finds the companies?
NCA’s Business Development team sources companies in your sector and region through its database, broker partners and network, and validates each one against the Investment Criteria. You are expected to search too, outside the working hours of your current role; any opportunity you introduce follows the same validation.
What kind of business should I target?
Established, profitable businesses with $3–8M of EBITDA and an enterprise value of $10–30M in the lower middle market, typically with an owner ready to step back and support the transition. Your sector and region are agreed with NCA; no investment thesis is required.
What do I invest, and when?
The one-time enrollment fee and the first annual program fee, 5,000 each in USD, EUR or GBP, are due at enrollment. There are no fees at or after LOI. With LOI Start, you may invest up to 25,000 at closing. With Diligence Start, you invest 25,000 at LOI toward the quality of earnings review and commercial due diligence.
What happens to a Diligence Start investment if the deal fails?
If the quality of earnings review is not clean, meaning adjusted EBITDA more than 10% below the LOI, you are released from your commitment without penalty. If the transaction does not close, the investment is lost, but it carries over to a next NCA-approved transaction that closes within 24 months while you remain in the Program, and then receives the 2× step-up. If NCA itself decides not to proceed after a clean QofE and completed commercial due diligence, the investment is refunded.
What does the Transaction Budget cover?
After an NCA-approved LOI, NCA and/or NCA-sponsored capital funds eligible transaction expenses to reach closing, including confirmatory due diligence by third-party advisors. It receives no step-up and does not provide a living-expense allowance. The company purchase is financed separately, typically by Novastone Partners alongside co-investors and acquisition debt.
How does the 2× step-up work?
Program fees and your investments, at LOI or at closing, are credited at closing at a 2× step-up as participating preferred equity, up to 50,000 in total, or 100,000 of equity. One cap applies across a first and, if it does not close, a second NCA-approved transaction. The step-up applies only if an acquisition closes and not to optional co-investment above the cap. Outcomes are not guaranteed.
Can I invest more in the acquisition?
Yes. Above the cap, you may co-invest alongside NCA and its co-investors on investor terms. This optional investment receives no step-up.
What happens if the acquisition does not close?
You and NCA review your performance, the reasons it did not close and the opportunities available. Next steps may include continuing in part-time or full-time search, pursuing another approved transaction, exploring another NCA program by invitation, or concluding the program relationship. You are not required to join full-time search, and your fees and any Diligence Start investment carry over to a next transaction, within the cap.
Your program contacts
It starts with
a conversation.
Speak with the team in your region about your background and the Operator-Led Buy-Out Program.
