We’re long UK.
Despite the worrying economic and societal challenges in the UK, we remain very optimistic about the future of the country.
We believe the next generation or evolution of UK small business is poised for greatness.
SME’s are the lifeblood of our country and our communities. Local growth, innovation and entrepreneurship drives positivity, jobs & prosperity at grass roots. City by City we rise.
However, despite SME’s paying the majority of the tax revenue and hiring a majority of the workforce. Founders have never felt less prioritised by the system.
It’s never been harder for gutsy founders to make profit, access capital and earn adequately.
And too few achieve an actual cash event to justify the risks they took and time they served.
Until now! We’re advancing a long term thinking model that addresses these issues and creates superior value for founders, investors and communities.
We understand you.
We started out as founders and entrepreneurs.
We never intended to become investors.
We started our first business in 2020, and before we knew it, We had hundreds of employees across the world in a bunch of companies.
Then we’d start receiving emails from “Growth partners”, M&A brokers & private equity firms.
Their emails were confusing and full of finance BS. They bragged about their ‘AUM’, ‘CAGR’ and ‘ROIC’ and dropped that they’d gone to a fancy Uni every third sentence.
Our curiosity drove us to take meetings however. They were aliens. We didn’t speak their language. Spreadsheet jockeys who’d never had to tap into their family’s savings to meet a payroll deadline.
We move fast.
Eventually, we gave in and sold a businesses to them.
It was a brutal twelve-month marathon. Piles of legal documents, constant renegotiations, and all-day meetings that spooked our team.
By closing, we were exhausted, we’d been on an emotional roller coaster and barely recognised the deal we’d originally shaken hands on.
Despite the promises, we were gone from the business within 3 months and watched our life’s work, team and culture get dismantled.
Then we read about how Warren Buffett does billion-dollar deals quickly by keeping the process painless and promising founders to take good care of their businesses.
Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington post without negotiating the valuation or doing due diligence.
Nobody had done this for a small business like ours, so we said “screw it” and decided to do it ourselves using Buffett’s simple approach.
We started Rising Tide to be different.
To become the buyer we wish we could have sold to.
We thought about all the stuff we hated about selling our company and worked backwards, then used our profits to buy wonderful local businesses from founders like us.
It turns out that selling your company doesn’t need to be so complicated and miserable.
We make offers in days, not months, let founders dictate their role (stay, go, or something in between), and leave the companies we acquire alone for the long-term.
So far, it’s working well. Our portfolio has grown to three companies and we are targeting another 20 deals before 2030.
Ready to skip the BS?
Life is too short to sell to a finance guy named Colin who calls your team “human capital”.
Here's how we do it:
Speak plainly
Don't waste people's time. We speak plainly: no BS, buzzwords, or stupid finance terms.
Protect culture
Don't mess with the culture that makes each company unique.
Avoid synergy (cost cutting)
We leave all our businesses to operate independently and avoid synergy at all costs.
Make founders proud
Founders entrust us with their companies. We do our best to follow through on their vision.
No assholes
Life is too short for brilliant jerks, assholes, suck ups, psychopaths, narcissists, and all that stuff...
Leave people alone
We buy great companies, hire great leaders, and leave them to do their thing.
Rising Tide Team
Mark Coombes
Lead Investor
£8.2m Exit in 2024
Louis Cross
Founder & General Partner
3 x company builder
Claire Cross
Advisor
People, Talent, & Culture
Liam Doe
Advisor
Brand & Marketing
Bradley Coombes
Advisor
Finance & Operations