What I look for. And what I do not.
If you want to sell or build something in Germany, one line has always held for me: if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. The German market, especially the industrial mid-market and the retail fortress around it, does not reward lazy copies of other countries. That is where I invest, because I understand the daily reality and because that is where I can be operationally useful.
Sectors
Industrial mid-market and food-adjacent companies in DACH and Portugal. Manufacturing, technical supply, brands and neighbouring industries. Broad enough for real opportunities. Narrow enough for my experience to matter. Not locked to one niche, and not pure software bets without an operating core.
Size
Revenue: roughly €2 to 30 million. Enterprise value: depends on the situation, to be discussed.
EBITDA / profitability: usually operationally profitable, with an EBITDA margin of around 5 % or more. Or with a clear path there.
I prefer businesses with substance: real customers, real processes, a team that carries the load. Numbers without operating reality do not interest me much.
Geography
DACH and Portugal. Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal are the markets I know from the inside, in their language and with their retailers. Of particular interest are companies that want to grow between the two: German mid-market firms heading for Iberia, and Portuguese producers heading into German retail. Wider Europe is possible when the fit is right and I can be operationally effective. International work without understanding the local market is arrogance with a business card.
Typical situations
- Growth: capital and operating support for the next step.
- Succession: ownership that combines continuity and involvement.
- Turnaround: when the core is sound and the problem can be fixed operationally, in sales, processes or leadership. Not when money is all that is missing.
- Carve-out: not as a default. Only when the operating lever is clear.
What I do not do
- Pure real-estate vehicles.
- Pure software SaaS without an operating anchor I can strengthen.
- Situations where I cannot add commercial or operating value.
- Passive minorities without information and involvement rights.
- Brokering shares to third parties.
If I cannot help, I say so in the first conversation. That saves both sides time and protects credibility.
Which decision in your company are you delaying because the right partner is still missing?
Intro call: 30 minutes, free, confidential.
Tell me where the company stands and what you actually need. I will tell you whether I can help, what a partnership would look like, and where I clearly say no.
Choose a timeor write to kontakt@strachwitzventures.com