Searchlight Capital
Entrepreneurial investors building and growing Australian SMEs for the long term.
For Sellers
A succession plan for retiring owners
Searchlight invests majority stakes in Australian businesses seeking a generational change in ownership. If you're selling your business, speak to us about flexible exit terms, the right business value, and an entrepreneur-first approach that continues your brand's legacy.
About us
Proven operators
Searchlight is led by Hugh Podmore, an Australian entrepreneur with multiple successful exits over the past 10 years. Searchlight is backed by high net worth individuals and families who invest deal-by-deal.Investments and exits include Bound (IT services, sold to Parc Capital), Kindy (software, sold to trade buyer), Advanced Navigation (currently scaling post KKR-led series B round), and Sue's in-home care, acquired in 2025.
what we look for
'Bedrock' companies
We like stable, growing businesses that serve an important need in their communities and industries. They have sticky customers and revenue, established operations (10+ years), healthy profits of $1-5m AUD per year, asset-light business models, and low founder dependency for sales or government licensing.Focus Industries include
Health, ageing and wellness
Home and facilities services
Testing and certification (TIC) businesses
B2B and professional services
our strategy
Mature and grow
Our experience growing and selling SME businesses has led us to specialise in a few key areas where we can add immediate and lasting value. These include team and leadership, modern sales, marketing and CX approaches, technology transformation and AI, and growth through mergers and acquisitions.We invest in businesses that already have a great quality product or service and great customer relationships, but want to scale to the next level of success.