We partner with founder-owned businesses in the Southeast to compound long-term value.

Firm Overview

Hobey Capital Group takes a focused, hands-on approach to investing in and supporting the growth of founder-owned businesses.  We focus on three industries where we and our network of industry operators have decades of operating experience.  We acquire platforms with 100% equity (no debt), allowing all operational cash flow to be reinvested into hiring, market expansion, and add-on acquisitions.

Investment Profile

Annual Earnings

$1–5 million

$250k minimum for add-ons

Geography

Southeast

SC, NC, TN, GA, FL, VA, AL, MS

Ownership

Founder or family

First institutional capital

Industry Focus

Property management

  • Single family
  • Small multifamily
  • HOA management

Non-hazardous liquid waste

  • Grease trap cleaning
  • Septic pumping and maintenance
  • Industrial liquid waste

Specialty manufacturing

  • Regulated end markets
  • Proprietary equipment or process
  • Specialty materials and coatings

Hobey Operating Partner Network

Industry veterans who work in partnership with Hobey.

Our operating partners have run companies in our three target industries or are subject-matter experts in the functions that drive growth: sales and marketing, operations, technology, and M&A. They are involved across the life of an investment including pressure-testing diligence, sharpening strategy, and executing alongside management.

Board & advisory

Strategy, industry relationships, and governance.

Short-term projects

Diligence, pricing, systems, M&A integration, and others.

Full-time operators

Embedded operators running the business day to day.

Example advisors

Property management

  • Founder & CEO of regional platform (exited)
  • Former property management M&A executive
  • Regional property manager overseeing >2K doors
  • Property management maintenance coordinator

Specialty manufacturing

  • Founder & COO, >$10M specialty materials
  • Medical manufacturing operations executive
  • Former executive, aerospace manufacturing
  • Senior supply chain executive

Non-hazardous waste

  • Founder & CEO of regional platform (exited)
  • Former operations leader
  • Former route dispatcher
  • Former sales & marketing leader

Growth functions

  • Former go-to-market executive
  • Former chief marketing officer
  • Former SVP, M&A integrations
  • ERP implementations leader
Liberty Bridge over the Reedy River, Greenville, South Carolina, at night

How We Invest

We structure each deal to meet the seller’s objectives, from a full buyout with a short leadership transition to a minority investment where we bring capital and expertise to grow through M&A.  In every case, our priority is to provide continuity for employees, customers, and vendors while positioning the business to grow.

Our Approach

People come first

We build cohesive, high-capability teams that work toward our collective long-term goals.  We increase headcount, open up company communication, and support with talent where needed.

We stay focused

We intensely focus on no more than three critical objectives.  We agree on the three together, we measure the inputs we know will achieve them, and we say no to nearly everything else.

We invest for the long term

Growth is not a straight line.  We evaluate every investment with a long-term view, unbothered by the near-term cost when we have conviction that it compounds for years.

Our Firm Values

Integrity

We do the right thing, every time.

Urgency

We move quickly and decisively.

Accountability

We do what we say we will do.

Humility

Everyone is someone we can learn from.

Who We Are

Leadership that works alongside you

We were Princeton hockey teammates before spending nearly a decade investing in and operating private companies of all sizes.  We’ve closed dozens of transactions worth over $10 billion of enterprise value, served on numerous boards, and led value creation initiatives across several industries.  We invest our own capital in every deal and take a long-term view of how we operate and, most importantly, how we treat people.

Contact us: team [at] hobeycapitalgroup [dot] com