Your Trusted Equity Partner
We buy businesses from retiring owners & provide growth capital to the next generation
Bloomington, Indiana
Are You a Fit?
Your Business
Parkland works with profitable businesses that:
Have Annual Revenue between $5 million and $30 million
AND
Have a clear opportunity to grow revenue and profits significantly over the next 10 years.
Your Life Stage
Parkland primarily works with two types of Owners:
Owner Type 1 – Retiring Owner
For business owners who would like to sell and retire, Parkland Group provides:
- liquidity
- a thorough “leadership transition” plan
- a “growth plan” to engage and excite your existing team members who will continue post sale.
Retiring Owner Case Study – Outsourced Corporate Training & Assessments Business
OR
Owner Type 2 – Next Generation Leader
For a next generation leader (i.e. search fund acquiror, younger business owner who wants to grow rapidly, or key manager who wants to buy the company they work for), Parkland Group:
- provides equity to support growth
- works daily behind the scenes with the Leader to shoulder much of the time burden on “hyper important, but non urgent items” (i.e. financial/costing/margin/customer analysis, outbound sales & marketing initiatives, searches for key leaders, add-on searches, etc.).
Next Gen Leader Case Study – Outsourced Warehousing & Fulfillment Business
Case Study #1 – Retiring Owner
Type: Retiring Owner
Industry: B2B Services (Outsourced Corporate Training & Assessments)
Region: Midwest
Ownership: 5 years
Growth: Revenue Growth of 5x and Net Income Growth of 7.5x
Overview:
A 71-year-old owner was looking to sell his business and retire. Parkland Group met the owner through his advisor and acquired 89% of the Company alongside a key, internal team member who acquired 11%. Parkland Group loaned the key manager money to acquire the stock, with the stock pledged as collateral for the loan.
The business provides large employers with training services (i.e. facilitators and custom training curriculum for their internal employees). Areas of focus include sales and management training programs. In addition, the company provides assessments to help decision makers with promotion and hiring decisions. The company provides both digital and in-person training services.
The team grew revenue and net cash flow significantly over 5 years primarily through:
- Sales Strategy – Focusing our energy on our largest, existing clients (doubling down) and redirecting our outbound sales efforts to the largest employers in the Midwest who have recurring and large training budgets;
- Product Development – Developing a more “consultative” sales approach by understanding our client’s business and the financial outcomes they were looking for (i.e. revenue growth and/or cost savings), then developing our customized curriculum to drive these outcomes and measuring the impact at completion. In addition, we developed digital tools which were high margin and “reusable.”
- Product Focus – Limiting our product offering to where we were most differentiated and ignoring everything else.
The Company and team continues to thrive and innovate using the above three tenets.
Case Study #2 – Next Generation Leader
Type: Next Generation Leader
Industry: B2B Services (Outsourced Warehousing & Fulfillment)
Region: Midsouth
Ownership: Active
Growth: Revenue Growth of 8x and Net Income Growth of 10x
Overview:
Two entrepreneurs located in the Midsouth started a third-party logistics company after college. After approximately 7 years of operating, the entrepreneurs were looking for a partner to help them grow the business significantly over the next decade.
Parkland Group met the owners through their advisor and acquired 40% of the Company; the two entrepreneurs retained 60%. 100% of Parkland’s cash investment went on the balance sheet (e.g. 100% growth equity vs. share purchase). The business provides mid-sized consumer brands with outsourced logistics services (specifically warehousing and order fulfillment to retail stores and/or direct to consumer e-commerce).
Our work together is still in progress; however, thus far the team has grown revenue and net cash flow significantly over the last several years primarily through:
- Firing Small, Unprofitable Clients – Parted ways with small, unprofitable clients who occupied space, consumed a disproportionate amount of customer service time, and were no fun to work with. This freed up floor space which we backfilled with more profitable/higher throughput clients.
- Financial Model – Developed a very detailed financial model and package of daily/weekly Key Performance Indicators to give us a real time view into our operating performance and financial performance (overall profitability and profitability by customer/service line/facility).
- Market Positioning – The industry we operate in is tremendously fragmented making it difficult to standout during competitive sales processes. We developed a clear picture of how we wanted to position ourselves in the market (how we are truly different, unique and even a bit quirky), then developed marketing and sales collateral articulating these differences to break through the clutter and standout to potential clients.
- Merger – We searched for over two years to locate one suitable acquisition target with an East and West Coast presence. We located one competitor and successfully executed a “merger of equals,” giving us a deeper management bench, growing volumes by 3x, and two additional locations.
The “results” are far from complete; however, we continue to work hard to grow the Company over the long-term and create a truly unique business in an industry and that is saturated with “sameness.”
Parkland’s (Active) Approach to Growth Equity
Capital from a passive investor is a commodity. That’s why in addition to investing significant equity into your business, Parkland also invests significant time.
Step 1: We Invest up to $3 Million of Equity into Your Company
Parkland invests up to $3 million for a minority equity stake in your company, providing the funding need to grow while you retain full control over your business.
Step 2: WE HELP DRIVE BUSINESS GROWTH BY WORKING DAILY IN FOUR KEY AREAS
Attracting Talent
Proactively recruiting new talent is important, but often times it’s not urgent and gets put behind more pressing issues. Luckily, Parkland tees up conversations with great candidates in both management and sales positions, helping strengthen your company.
Sales & Marketing
We help you develop a proactive, outbound sales & marketing approach (or double down on your current strategy if it’s working).
Financial Management
Parkland works alongside your in-house bookkeeper, controller, or CFO, so you can wave goodbye to reviewing vendor costs, monitoring key metrics, and working to maintain or increase margins.
Administrative Assistance
We take pride in alleviating your administrative pains (i.e. insurance, legal, landlords, accounting, etc.). Essentially, we’ll take care of any tedious, time-consuming tasks so you can focus energy on what matters most—your customers.
John J. Sedgwick
Parkland Group Industries, LLC
About
John formed Parkland Group Industries, LLC (PGI) in 2015 to make a limited number of growth investments in companies with annual revenue of $5.0 to $30.0 million or a net income of $0.5 to $3.0 million. Post investment, John assumes a “daily active” role in the company—working alongside you and key shareholders to support growth initiatives.
Before founding Parkland Group, John spearheaded corporate development at ASPEQ Holdings, Inc. (ASPEQ), a privately-owned manufacturing holding company. Prior to ASPEQ, John was a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs & Co, where he advised family offices on public & private investments.
John received his bachelor’s degree in finance from the Kelley School of Business Honors Program at Indiana University and earned his Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation.
Additionally, John is a member of the Board of Trustees of Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS), a college-preparatory, independent, coeducational school for grades K-12 and sits on the Finance & Audit Committee and Investment & Endowment Committee of MICDS. John resides in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife and four daughters.
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