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Before diving into the successful acquisition you have just completed, tell us a bit about how two successful entrepreneurs—who have sold companies worth more than €100M—decided to embark on a traditional SF?
For over ten years, Luis Pérez del Val and I have shared friendship, projects, and a similar way of understanding business: building strong teams, being obsessed with the customer, and creating ventures that transform traditional industries. You could say we like taking on incumbents. We both come from entrepreneurial paths with meaningful exits (Bodaclick, LolaMarket, Baguise, RestoIn, among others), and after leaving our latest ventures, we found ourselves at a professional and personal stage where we wanted to “get our hands dirty” again in day-to-day operations—but this time with a long-term mindset, in the real economy, close to the product and the cash. In my case, I often say this should be my last entrepreneurial project. After this, I’d like to focus on more playful pursuits.
The Search Fund model attracted me for three reasons. First, its alignment of interests: investors and operators rowing in the same direction, focused on long-term operational value creation. Second, the opportunity to digitalize a traditional yet highly resilient business. And third, on a personal level, the deliberate shift from the startup world and constant fundraising to managing positive cash flow—stepping away from digital trends that, at the time (after my exit from ELMA and the blockchain boom), didn’t convince me due to the lack of compelling B2C use cases.
Raising the fund was a smooth process for two main reasons. On the one hand, the leading funds in the ecosystem (Relay, Istria, Alza, Cerralvo, Ethos…) are seeking opportunities where they can invest meaningful tickets in companies with scale, complexity, and teams requiring proven executive experience. That fit with our profile made conversations very natural. On the other hand, the early entry of an anchor investor provided validation and momentum, helping others join with conviction. Behind the apparent ease, though, there was a lot of groundwork: a clear thesis, well-defined investment criteria, and a culture of transparency with investors.
What was your search process like, and what advantages come with having a senior and very hands-on profile when sitting down with business owners?
Our search process combined two complementary levers: high-quality relationships and a numbers game. We divided roles according to our strengths: Luis, with his strong relational profile, focused on intermediaries and industry networks; I built an automated outbound prospecting engine.
In my case, I mixed a database built in SABI aligned with our thesis with direct cold calling to company owners we found interesting. The goal was simple: get to the point, secure the first meeting, and listen. This combination of a wide funnel and genuine conversations led us to hold over 200 meetings with entrepreneurs in two years. Even without an acquisition, the sector learning and pattern recognition alone would have been worth it.
Arriving as senior, hands-on operators generated trust from the first minute. We’ve been in the seller’s shoes: hiring and firing, dealing with unions, managing workforce peaks and seasonality, protecting cash flow. That shared experience shortens the distance. It doesn’t make us “better” than younger searchers—many are brilliant—but it does reduce the perceived risk for an owner making the most important decision of their life. In the end, a seller chooses trust, not just price.
In La Sala’s case, they had already been approached by traditional searchers, but the scale—over 160 permanent employees and often 400+ in season—made them hesitate to hand over the keys to someone without operational scars. It wasn’t a matter of age, but of having truly sat in the operator’s chair. We respected that. Our advantage wasn’t an Excel sheet; it was credibility: operational track record, humility to listen, and a plan balancing continuity with modernization. And to be fair, most searchers we know could have managed such a company as well as we can, the difference was the seller’s confidence in who would be the right steward for the work of their life.
Let’s get into the details of the La Sala transaction. What attracted you to this company, and could you tell us a bit about its characteristics?
La Sala ticked nearly every box of our investment thesis—and, to be honest, we fell in love from day one. We sent the first email on September 6, 2023, which shows how persistent you have to be in this business.
The fundamentals were solid: La Sala is the leading producer of grafted horticultural plants in southeastern Spain, with decades of expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, and a reputation that keeps our order pipeline bursting. It has clear competitive advantages: proprietary grafting techniques, climate-controlled greenhouses, and deep relationships with large producers that would take years to replicate.
The succession case was textbook: three founding partners beyond retirement age without successors. They needed someone to take the company to the next stage, someone who would respect what had been built while bringing fresh energy to accelerate growth.
Financially, it sat in our sweet spot: revenue and EBITDA at the upper end of traditional search fund ranges, just below the threshold where private equity competes aggressively. Critically, customer concentration was manageable, with no excessive dependence on any single client.
The sector met multiple criteria: resilient demand, structural tailwinds (sustainability, controlled agriculture), attractiveness for PE as an eventual exit buyer, and it’s a key pillar of the Spanish economy. It’s the kind of business that withstands cycles.
What ultimately sealed the deal was the combination: market leadership, experienced management staying on board, clear opportunities for digitalization and operational improvement, and founders who genuinely cared about continuity. Two years of courtship later, here we are.
From what I understand, you faced a significant equity gap that considerably delayed the deal. What were the main reasons behind this?
It wasn’t the only factor behind the timeline, but closing the equity gap was indeed a challenge. Our investor base was concentrated—mainly institutional funds—and each “no” created a 10–15% hole we had to fill quickly, since many investors during the search phase had wanted to take two “units.” When we launched the capital call, some initial investors stepped out for various reasons: a couple due to sector fit (agriculture isn’t for everyone), others due to deal size (the ticket was large for the few individuals on the cap table), and others because we disagreed on incentive terms—specifically, the proposal to move from a three-tranche model to two. The new two-tranche setup didn’t align with the long-term operator project we envisioned, so after several discussions we decided to maintain the traditional three-tranche model. I must say that our final investors are fully aligned and happy with that decision, and even some who dropped out later admitted the final agreement we reached was sound and are now offering it to other searchers using the three-tranche model.
There were also more mundane issues: board seats (many investors wanted one, but there are only four plus ours), some non-standard conditions, etc. As in life, some investors are more flexible than others, and we can now proudly say we have a perfectly aligned cap table, all with a single shared goal.
How did you overcome it, who are your new partners on this journey, and how did you structure the acquisition?
Raising capital is a game of volume and resilience. I once read it’s like dating, you have to talk to many people until you find the right one. That’s exactly what we did. We basically restarted from scratch, activated all our networks, and built a new investor group aligned with both the Search Fund model and the company we were acquiring. We’re especially grateful to Ibrahim (Moonbase) for his conciliatory attitude and support. He’s one of the best assets in the Search Fund universe—his contribution to searchers and the ecosystem is remarkable. Two top-tier funds—ONEtoONE and another that prefers to remain discreet—fell in love with the project from their first visit to the facilities. The energy and commitment of Juan Cuesta and Alfonso Osorio at ONEtoONE made the decision to bring them on board very easy. We also welcomed a couple of family offices (Turtle and Secways) familiar with the SF model, and Itaca, where Paz Ambrosy’s deep agro experience adds unique value. In addition, three individual investors from the ecosystem joined personally, each bringing complementary expertise that will be valuable in this next phase.
As for structure and economics, we can’t share specific multiples, but they’re within ranges considered reasonable in the ecosystem. The transaction was structured around roughly 50% equity and 50% debt, with a meaningful vendor loan component that aligns interests, protects cash, and eases the transition. In the end, persistence, transparency, and on-the-ground conviction work were the keys to closing the gap and signing the deal.
You mentioned that some investors wanted to renegotiate terms—such as moving from three tranches to two—or even impose clauses that did not sit well with you. How do you think the sector should evolve to improve its level of professionalism? What advice would you give to other searchers?
The ecosystem is maturing, and one clear example is the practical move from three to two tranches. With the three-tranche model, searchers couldn’t handle the withholding taxes, so the two-tranche model was designed. This change caught us right when we launched our capital call. The two-tranche setup is viable, but in our case it meant going from risking 33% of the incentive to 50%, which significantly altered the risk–reward balance, so it didn’t work for us. We were in a tough spot because the conditions had changed and the model we had signed became unfeasible. Fortunately, after speaking with different players, we found a middle ground that keeps alignment, is tax-compatible, and works for those operating the business. If it consolidates, it could become a useful reference, because SMEs facing generational succession need this model, and everyone wins when incentives are well designed.
In general, the ecosystem should acknowledge different situations. Living in Hamburg is not the same as living in Soria; managing a €5M EBITDA company is not the same as managing a €1.5M one; working as a duo is different from going solo. It’s reasonable for conditions to adapt—within limits—to context: cost of living, deal size and complexity, and team profile.
The sector is maturing with new types of capital (some with PE/VC DNA) and a more diverse base of searchers, from young MBAs to senior operators and ex-entrepreneurs, and I think it should be more flexible. That diversity is a strength, and rigidity doesn’t help. With calm dialogue, transparent expectations, and respect for different realities, alignment usually follows. But imposing a one-size-fits-all model won’t be sustainable in the long run.
Coming back to the company itself, what will be your priorities to grow it? Where do you see the main growth levers for an agribusiness in Murcia?
Our first priority is people and continuity. When new owners arrive at a 35-year-old company whose founders have been everything, the key is to minimize uncertainty. The message is simple: we’re here to preserve and extend the legacy of two visionaries, not to change for the sake of change. We’ve been fortunate that one of the sellers remains a shareholder and fully engaged, which gives stability and reassurance to both the team and customers.
The second priority is to learn—with patience and humility. At 53, rolling up your sleeves and spending time in production has been the best school: being close to the teams, learning names, listening carefully, and taking notes. People are the company’s greatest asset; when given space, they often come up with the best solutions, and our role is to make their work easier and remove obstacles. Only once we deeply understand operations will we begin adding small, thoughtful “grains of sand” in operations, commercial, and finance—at the pace that best serves the business. There’s a lot to do—and the team has already pointed out areas where we can help—but we’ll move prudently.
On a personal level, La Sala has been a breath of fresh air—it brings back the smile of a kid fresh out of college. With this foundation and the team’s talent, we’re confident we can turn it into a benchmark in the agricultural world—step by step, with respect and perseverance.
