Partner Support Leads to 'Functional Excellence'

Access Holdings focuses on providing the support and tools its partners need to scale and innovate to build enduring businesses

When Access Holdings was founded eight years ago, Kevin McAllister started with a specific vision in mind: purposeful investing. Rather than just pursuing businesses for sale, his team focuses on identifying fragmented markets characterized by stability and growing demand, then seeking out small and midsize companies that stand out in their sectors. Often, Access Holdings ends up providing the first institutional capital these businesses see.

"Owners of these companies have been highly successful but face challenges scaling and innovating their organizations and undertaking programmatic M&A," McAllister says. "We are not just buying these companies; we are providing the capabilities and technology solutions needed to bring their ventures to the next level to better serve their customers, employees, and communities." The Access Holdings process starts with extensive research into industries it believes have strong growth potential.

After developing conviction in an industry and business model, Access identifies potential partners. "We don't just go in and say, hey, we want to buy your business,"