We are looking for one business — not hundreds.
Most approaches a business owner receives are from brokers, aggregators or private-equity buyers working through long lists. This is the opposite. I want to find one good business, get to know it properly, buy it, and run it myself for the long term. If that's you, you'll be talking directly to the person who intends to take the wheel.
Who I am
An owner-operator, not a broker or a fund.
I'm Peter Langdon — an Australian, currently in the UK and moving home to South East Queensland for good, for family and the lifestyle. I'm coming to put down roots and run one business for the long term. The simple version: I've built and run a business of my own, and I want to do it again.
For the past decade I co-founded and ran a business from a standing start — finding the premises, hiring and looking after the team, winning and keeping customers, dealing with suppliers and regulators, making payroll every month and carrying the worry home at night. I grew it into an award-winning operation with the books squarely on my desk. I know what it actually takes to keep a business running well, day in and day out — because I've done it, not just advised on it.
I trained as a chartered accountant and earlier worked on the buying and selling of companies, so I can do a deal properly and fairly and won't waste your time. But none of that is the point. I'm not here to flip a business or run it from a spreadsheet — I'm here to take the wheel of one good business, look after the people in it, and grow it for the long haul. I have the capital to buy and the hands-on experience to run it, and I'd far rather build on something that already works than start from scratch.
Hands-on business owner · Chartered Accountant · MBA, University of Oxford
What this can offer a founder
A succession that protects what you built.
Selling isn't only about price. For most founders it's also about what happens to the staff, the customers, the name and the legacy. I'm open to structuring a deal around those things, not against them:
- Meaningful cash up front — a fair, real offer at completion.
- A staged handover — you stay involved for 6–18 months so the transition is calm and the team is looked after.
- Flexibility on structure — vendor finance and seller rollover are on the table where they help both sides.
- Continuity — for your staff, your customers, your suppliers and your name.
- Discretion — every conversation is confidential, with no obligation.
What I'm looking for
Steady, useful, built to last.
The best fit is a business that does important work for repeat customers, has earned trust over many years, and would benefit from a committed successor rather than a short-term financial buyer. It does not need to be fashionable. In many ways, the quieter and more essential the work, the better.
The kind of business
Profitable, established businesses serving other businesses — the essential, repeat-demand, often unglamorous work that customers always need. Industrial, compliance, maintenance, trade-services and specialist B2B operations all fit.
The kind of owner
An owner thinking about the next chapter — retirement, stepping back, or simply wanting a trusted successor — who cares that the business and its people are left in good hands.
Roughly the size
Established teams and revenue, typically a handful to a few dozen staff. If you're not sure whether you fit, the easiest thing is just to ask.
Where
South East Queensland — Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan and the Moreton Bay region.
- Essential work - customers rely on the business because the work has to be done properly, often around service, maintenance, compliance, inspection, repairs or specialist operations.
- Repeat demand - revenue comes back through scheduled work, responsive service, trusted judgement or ongoing relationships rather than one-off transactions.
- Physical presence - the work still needs capable people on site, in the workshop, with customers or around real equipment and assets. Technology can help the business, but should not replace its core value.
- Established people - a small, capable team knows the customers and the work. I am looking to support those people, not remove what made the business good.
- Practical scale - profitable and established, usually large enough to support a full-time owner but still personal enough that stewardship matters.
Less likely to fit: businesses built mainly on speculative growth, heavy project risk, one major customer, or a seller who simply wants the highest auction price regardless of what happens next.
How a conversation works
Unhurried, confidential, no obligation.
It starts with a private, no-pressure conversation — often just coffee or a phone call — to understand whether there's a fit. Nothing is shared, nothing is committed, and there's no broker in the middle. If it's not right, it ends there, in confidence. If it is, we take the next steps together at your pace.
Get in touch
If this sounds like your business, I'd like to hear from you.
A short, confidential note is all it takes — even just to ask a question. It will reach me directly.
Every enquiry is treated in strict confidence.