Frequently asked questions
Questions founders ask us
Thinking about the future of your family business is a huge personal step. Here are some answers to the key questions you may have about Keeper & Co.
Does Keeper & Co need to raise capital before making my business an offer?
No. The capital is already committed.
Keeper & Co is backed by permanent, committed capital from our founding investors: a small group of family offices and family business owners who are in this for the long term. We don’t raise money deal by deal, so when we make you an offer, the funding is already in place.
That means no waiting on third-party investors to sign off, and no deal falling over late because the money wasn’t there. We also keep borrowing conservative, so your business is never loaded up with debt to pay for its own purchase.
Do you buy 100% of the business?
Generally not, and that’s by design.
Our model is a handover, not a takeover. Keeper & Co acquires a majority of the business, giving you a meaningful exit today. Where possible, we offer every founder a legacy stake of around 20%, so you and the next generation of your family continue to share in the profits of the business you built.
Can I retire or step away soon after the acquisition?
Yes. For many founders, that’s the point.
We’ll agree a transition plan with you before anything is signed. Ideally you stay involved for a period, often 12 to 24 months, to hand over key relationships and knowledge. How involved you are, and for how long, is something we shape together. Some founders want to step back quickly; others enjoy staying on as the CEO. There is no formula.
Part of our assessment is understanding who will lead the business next; whether that’s you, someone already in your team or someone we help you find. And with your legacy stake, stepping back from the day-to-day doesn’t mean stepping away from the business’s success. We believe our founders should, where possible, always be a vital part of the coaching team for any new leader for the business.
What happens to my team, my brand and the way we do things?
Your name stays on the door and your team stays in their seats.
We buy businesses because they already work. We don’t merge them into a larger group, chase cost savings or move head office. The business remains the business you built. That doesn’t mean nothing ever changes. We never make wholesale changes, but we do support your team to make incremental, smart choices that help the business maintain a successful future. The Keeper & Co head office stays small on purpose: we provide capital, coaching and support where it’s useful, and leave the running of the business to the people who know it best.
Will you sell my business in a few years?
No. We buy businesses to keep them, permanently.
Keeper & Co is not a fund. We have no fund life, no exit date and no investors waiting for a sale. The profits your business generates are reinvested and shared with shareholders, including you through your legacy stake, for the long term. Legacy matters to us, and we intend to keep and grow what you built for generations.
What experience do you have running businesses like mine?
We’re family business owners and operators ourselves.
Our group has built, run and sold companies across pet food, automotive, retail, construction, finance and software. Beyond our own family businesses, we’ve backed more than 100 companies founded by others.
Our CEO and Founder, Rob Goodwin, has spent more than 25 years in and around businesses of every size. He started out running sites for Village Cinemas with full profit-and-loss responsibility, then moved into management consulting, followed by a range of executive roles across various sectors. Most recently, Rob was Chief Operating Officer at Employment Hero after senior leadership roles at Xero; two businesses built to serve Australian small and medium businesses. Along the way he has led acquisitions from just a few million dollars to over $100 million.
We won’t pretend to know your industry better than you do. Our experience is in helping good businesses through change, and making sure the people who built them are looked after.
What kind of businesses are you looking for?
Australia’s best family businesses come from every industry. We applaud them all, but we believe our best fit is:
- A business with a proven track record
- A business that provides something unique or hard to replicate
- A business that is consistently profitable
What does the process look like, and how long does it take?
Four stages in total. We will do all we can to ensure it takes no more than 10 weeks from first call to decision.
- A conversation, not a commitment. A simple phone call to check whether we’re broadly aligned. No paperwork, no pressure.
- Getting to know you. A scheduled, transparent discussion with the next layer of detail about your business and what matters to you.
- On the ground, in your business. We spend time on-site with you over one week. It’s intense, but it’s designed so you get to know us just as well as we get to know you.
- Align on deal terms. We’ll make you an offer and stick to it. We’ll check the details of the business through due diligence before we sign anything final, but unless we find something material, we won’t use that to lower the price or change the deal.
Before each stage we tell you what to expect and what to prepare. At the end of each stage you get a clear yes, no or "not yet". Everything you share is treated as confidential, and we will not renegotiate terms partway through a deal unless there has been a material omission - and if that happens, we’ll discuss it openly.
Your next chapter
Is Keeper & Co a good fit for your business?
Start a confidential conversation. You’ll get a clear answer and clear next steps.
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