M&A Zing (Ep. 18) - Healthcare, Early Years & the Long Game: Nadim Kapadia on the Permanent Holdco
Season 1, Episode 17, Jun 13, 04:51 PM
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Diplomat-turned-consultant Nadim Kapadia has swapped global policy for local impact. Through Aligned Partners—a self-funded holding company—he’s hunting profitable UK care homes and early-years providers to own for the long haul. He reveals why autonomy and mission outweighed venture capital glamour, how he built a no-win-no-fee deal team before writing any cheques, and what negotiating with governments taught him about seller psychology. Expect candid talk on failed offers, daily progress habits and the culture checkpoints he uses to screen targets. If you’re considering a self-funded search—or want a behind-the-scenes view of UK ETA—this episode delivers.
Modern polymath Nadim Kapadia (Managing Partner & Founder of Aligned Partners HoldCo) has worn every hat: diplomat-turned-consultant, FTSE-100 advisor, VC mentor, Singapore expat, and now self-funded searcher on a mission to buy and build UK SMEs in healthcare & early-years education.
In this episode he breaks down:
Why a purpose-driven diplomat left Big-4 consulting for entrepreneurship-through-acquisition
Swapping VC & PE for a self-funded, multi-decade HoldCo (and keeping maximum equity)
How he screens care-home & nursery deals: CQC/Ofsted reports, culture audits and council contracts
Broker vs proprietary sourcing, “no-win-no-fee” buyside mandates, and the email + letter combo that’s landing off-market calls
Mind-set lessons from marathon running: consistency, persistence & discipline in a long-game search
[0:00] Intro & welcome
[1:12] Nadim’s global career and first brush with ETA
[3:20] Autonomy, impact & leaving corporate life
[5:05] LBS MBA, VC/PE electives & early search-fund FOMO
[6:42] Why go self-funded (vs traditional partnered search)
[9:18] Launching Aligned Partners – HoldCo vision & values
[11:32] Sector focus – UK healthcare & early-years education
[14:06] Deal sweet-spot, revenue / EBITDA ranges & leverage
[15:55] Building the deal team (advisors, lenders, buyside “no-win-no-fee”)
[18:22] Multi-channel sourcing – brokers, letters, BizCrunch email campaigns
[22:34] Seller psychology, legacy & the “alignment” litmus test
[26:08] Culture & CQC / Ofsted due-diligence in care businesses
[29:17] When offers fall apart – lessons from broken deals
[32:46] The marathon mind-set: consistency, persistence, discipline
[35:04] First-100-days plan once an acquisition closes
[36:48] Who Nadim wants to meet next (owners, financiers, operating partners)
[38:12] Key take-aways & wrap-up
🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED
Aligned Partners HoldCo → https://alignedpartners.co.uk
Nadim Kapadia on LinkedIn → https://linkedin.com/in/nadim-kapadia
Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports → https://cqc.org.uk
Ofsted inspection reports → https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk
BizCrunch searcher tools & community → https://www.bizcrunch.co
About M&A Zing
Host: Gareth Hawkins – CEO & Co-Founder, BizCrunch (exited founder & M&A investor).
Each week we dive into real-world SMB M&A across the UK & Europe.
Join the BizCrunch Community
Early-access episodes, live Q&A and networking for acquisition entrepreneurs & investors.
Sign up → https://www.bizcrunch.co/community
Featured News
Microsoft chooses a boutique London venue for Satya Nadella’s EU product launch – the inside story of an events business rebuilt after COVID
BGF doubles down on UK tech after its nine-figure exit from Rock Technologies
UK Start-Up Loans: £25 k per founder at 6 % – why Sam Simpson still says “no PG debt”
Thanks for watching! Please like, subscribe and drop questions below—better yet, join our community for the private AMA.
In this episode he breaks down:
Why a purpose-driven diplomat left Big-4 consulting for entrepreneurship-through-acquisition
Swapping VC & PE for a self-funded, multi-decade HoldCo (and keeping maximum equity)
How he screens care-home & nursery deals: CQC/Ofsted reports, culture audits and council contracts
Broker vs proprietary sourcing, “no-win-no-fee” buyside mandates, and the email + letter combo that’s landing off-market calls
Mind-set lessons from marathon running: consistency, persistence & discipline in a long-game search
[0:00] Intro & welcome
[1:12] Nadim’s global career and first brush with ETA
[3:20] Autonomy, impact & leaving corporate life
[5:05] LBS MBA, VC/PE electives & early search-fund FOMO
[6:42] Why go self-funded (vs traditional partnered search)
[9:18] Launching Aligned Partners – HoldCo vision & values
[11:32] Sector focus – UK healthcare & early-years education
[14:06] Deal sweet-spot, revenue / EBITDA ranges & leverage
[15:55] Building the deal team (advisors, lenders, buyside “no-win-no-fee”)
[18:22] Multi-channel sourcing – brokers, letters, BizCrunch email campaigns
[22:34] Seller psychology, legacy & the “alignment” litmus test
[26:08] Culture & CQC / Ofsted due-diligence in care businesses
[29:17] When offers fall apart – lessons from broken deals
[32:46] The marathon mind-set: consistency, persistence, discipline
[35:04] First-100-days plan once an acquisition closes
[36:48] Who Nadim wants to meet next (owners, financiers, operating partners)
[38:12] Key take-aways & wrap-up
🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED
Aligned Partners HoldCo → https://alignedpartners.co.uk
Nadim Kapadia on LinkedIn → https://linkedin.com/in/nadim-kapadia
Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports → https://cqc.org.uk
Ofsted inspection reports → https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk
BizCrunch searcher tools & community → https://www.bizcrunch.co
About M&A Zing
Host: Gareth Hawkins – CEO & Co-Founder, BizCrunch (exited founder & M&A investor).
Each week we dive into real-world SMB M&A across the UK & Europe.
Join the BizCrunch Community
Early-access episodes, live Q&A and networking for acquisition entrepreneurs & investors.
Sign up → https://www.bizcrunch.co/community
Featured News
Microsoft chooses a boutique London venue for Satya Nadella’s EU product launch – the inside story of an events business rebuilt after COVID
BGF doubles down on UK tech after its nine-figure exit from Rock Technologies
UK Start-Up Loans: £25 k per founder at 6 % – why Sam Simpson still says “no PG debt”
Thanks for watching! Please like, subscribe and drop questions below—better yet, join our community for the private AMA.