FAQS
Frequently Asked Questions Business Owners Ask Us
Honest answers to the questions we hear most often. If yours is not here, call us; we will answer it directly.
ABOUT SPRINGBOK ACQUISITIONS
About Springbok Acquisitions
Springbok Acquisitions is a UK-based permanent capital group that buys well-run, profitable businesses from their founders and holds them permanently. We are not a private equity fund. We are not a broker. We invest our own money, hold businesses with no intention of selling, and keep management teams in place. Founded by Shepherd Ncube, who built Springbok Properties from a spare room to £20M+ in revenue.
No. We have no fund, no outside investors, and no requirement to sell the businesses we buy. Private equity firms raise money from investors and buy businesses to sell them within 3–7 years. We do the opposite. We invest our own money and hold permanently. There is no exit plan because there is no exit.
Shepherd Ncube is the founder of Springbok Business Acquisition. He built three businesses from scratch, including Springbok Properties, from a spare room to £20M+ in revenue. He employs over 160 people across all operations. Every decision at Springbok Acquisitions comes from someone who has built, scaled, and run businesses.
THE PROCESS
The Process
From first conversation to completion, typically under three months, not the 6–18 months a broker-led process can take. Week 1 is a conversation. Weeks 2–3 are initial review. Week 3–4 you receive an offer. Weeks 4–8 are due diligence. Weeks 8–12 completion. We move quickly because we make decisions ourselves, no committee, no fund approvals.
Initially, very little. Basic financials and an overview of the business. We never ask for more than we need at each stage. The first conversation is informal: just tell us about your business and what you are thinking. If there is a potential fit, we ask for financials and a brief overview. We respect your time and do not send 40-page questionnaires.
Not unless you choose to tell them. Every conversation is confidential from the start. Confidentiality is not an afterthought; it is where we start. Your staff, customers, and competitors will not know you are exploring a sale. We deal directly with you. No market exposure. No public listing.
You walk away. No cost. No obligation. No hard feelings. This happens, and we respect it completely. At no point in the process are you locked in. If you decide this is not the right time or the right route, you leave with no cost and no consequences.
Absolutely. We encourage it. Having your own advisers involved protects you and makes the process smoother. We work alongside your existing advisers. It is your sale and your decision; having trusted professionals in the room helps everyone.
THE DEAL
The Deal
We look at earnings, cash flow, management strength, customer concentration, and growth trajectory. We explain our reasoning clearly. There is no black box. When we make an offer, we explain how we arrived at the number, what we based it on, and what the terms look like. We want you to understand the offer on the first read.
No. Our offer is based on honest assessment. We do not make inflated offers designed to be reduced later. If due diligence reveals something material we did not know, we will have an honest conversation. But we do not play games. The number we offer is the number we mean.
We may use some financing alongside our own capital, but we do not load businesses with aggressive debt to fund acquisitions. We are not a leveraged buyout. We invest from our own balance sheet and work with established funding partners to ensure certainty of completion. Any use of debt is conservative and never at the expense of the business or its people.
Management stays in place. We do not parachute in outside executives. Continuity is the model, not the exception. This is the single biggest difference between us and most other buyers. Shepherd built Springbok Properties by developing the people already there: 9 team members with 10+ years, 27+ with 5+ years. That same philosophy applies to every acquisition.
That is entirely your choice. Stay for a transition, remain long-term, or step away completely. Some owners stay for a transition period. Some remain involved for years. Some walk away on day one. There is no fixed requirement. Your involvement is on your terms.
IS MY BUSINESS A FIT?
Is My Business a Fit?
Established, profitable UK businesses with £1M–£7M EBITDA, 20%+ operating margins, B2B recurring revenue, diverse customer base (no single customer exceeding 20% of revenue), management team in place, and asset-backed preferred. UK-based, founder or family-owned. We buy 100%, no minority stakes.
We will tell you honestly, and help you find the right route, including brokers if that is the better option. If we are not the right fit, we are happy to help you find someone who is. That might be a broker, a trade buyer, or a different type of acquirer. We would rather help you find the right route than force a deal that does not work.
No. Our focus is the United Kingdom. The business should be headquartered and primarily operating in the UK. We may consider businesses with some international operations, but the core of the business should be UK-based.
