Silver Oyster Investments

Buying Essential Businesses

Helping boomers exit their profitable, cash flow generating business

Silver Oyster Investments Ltd is a HoldCo firm solely focused on strategic acquisitions within the Irish & UK SME market. Silver Oyster Investments actively identify, evaluate, and qualify acquisition opportunities among Ireland’s profitable small businesses, particularly those impacted by the ‘Silver Tsunami’—where owners nearing retirement lack a defined succession or exit plan. Our focus is on essential, resilient, and evergreen industries, targeting businesses with robust, pressure-tested financials. Each selected acquisition features a clear leadership succession plan and a well-supported roadmap for generating sustainable, continuous cashflow.

IRELAND: THE ‘SILVER TSUNAMI’ OPPORTUNITY

The structure, fragmentation, and dynamics of the Irish SME market are driving a sharp increase in retirement-driven sales and, in many cases, closures of profitable, essential, and evergreen businesses. Many owners find themselves seeking last-minute exit solutions; however, the majority of these sales do not succeed. One buyout firm estimates that 80% of SMEs fail to secure a buyer, leaving owners with a difficult choice: either close the business to retire or continue working beyond their planned exit

278k

Irish SMEs

18k

6% have 10-49
employees

33%

Nearing Retirement
(Owner age 55+)

80%+

Have no clear
succession plan

~5,000

Businesses

CLEAR INVESTMENT CRITERIA AND AMBITION

Drawing on our extensive experience in acquisitions, integrations, growth, and business management, we take a highly selective approach, advancing only those deals that meet our rigorous investment criteria. A key requirement for each acquisition is the identification and placement of a suitable business operator before completion—often the seller, who is incentivized to facilitate a structured, multi-year transition.

DISTRIBUTED, VARIED OPPORTUNITIES

STANDARD INVESTMENT PROCESS

We source acquisition targets through both inbound (brokered) opportunities and direct, targeted outreach to owner-managers approaching retirement. This process leverages local business networks, professional service firms, and succession advisors.
Each opportunity is evaluated against strict financial, operational, and market criteria to determine alignment with our target deal characteristics
Upon completing thorough due diligence, we employ creative deal structuring—balancing valuation, earnouts, seller financing, and phased handovers—to negotiate terms that align with our investment approach

Revenue

€1m to €10m

EBITDA

Min €300k; Min 10% EBITDA Margin

Operator

Existing MD / Team promotion / External hire

Longevity / Tenure

Min 10 years in business; longer preferred

Exit reason preferred

Retirement

Enterprise Value

2x to 4x

Transaction structure

50-70% up-front, remainder earned over 2-3 years