Welcome to Episode 12 of M&A Zing - the weekly show for acquisition entrepreneurs, search-funders, and hold-co builders across the UK & Europe.
This week Gareth Hawkins sits down with Amit Rai*, co-founder & CEO of *Astra Holdings*. After strategy gigs at McKinsey, senior roles at Microsoft & Nokia, and a venture exit to Shell, Amit is now on a mission to give UK industrial SMEs a *permanent home. In just 18 months he’s closed two acquisitions (IntoDoor & Acorn Engineering) and is racing toward a 30-company, IPO-bound platform, borrowing pages from Constellation Software and the Nordic serial-acquirer model.
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#### Episode Timestamps
[00:00] Introduction & Welcome
[00:44] Community shout-out → Sofware (new Polish search fund)
[02:00] Amit’s Career Arc – McKinsey, Microsoft, Nokia, Machine Max exit to Shell
[03:55] Personal driver: watching his father’s SME close for lack of succession
[04:55] Deal #1 – IntoDoor (industrial door maintenance, East Midlands)
[05:55] Deal #2 – Acorn Engineerin* (hospital pipe-refurb, North-East)
[07:56] Digitising the basics: websites, CRM & monthly dashboards most SMEs lack
[08:52] “Professionalising Ops” – forcing 1-, 3- & 5-year planning conversations
[09:59] Astra Thesis – asset-light engineering services, outside London, 6× EBITDA sweet-spot
[12:10] Seller psychology: legacy → headline price, why permanent capital wins
[12:58] Nordic inspiration (Indutrade, Lifco, Lagercrantz) & decentralised culture
[14:55] AI on the factory floor – the intern who built a workload app with ChatGPT
[26:55] Deal-flow engine: brokers, accountants, BizCrunch & word-of-mouth “good-home” rep
[30:37] Ten-Year Vision – 30–40 companies, bi-monthly acquisitions, London IPO target
[31:59] Fund-raising realities & why UK industrial deal-competition is still years away
[38:58] Wrap-up + Serial Acquirer Symposium (18 June, London) – join us!
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Guest Bio: Amit Rai
Amit Rai is Co-Founder & CEO of Astra Holdings*, a permanent-capital hold-co acquiring UK industrial service SMEs. He previously led product strategy at Microsoft & Nokia, consulted at McKinsey, and founded *Machine Max (industrial IoT telematics), which Shell acquired in 2021. Amit’s mission is to solve the UK succession gap while layering simple tech & IoT on “unsexy” engineering firms to unlock step-change productivity.
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About M&A Zing
Host
Gareth Hawkins – CEO & Co-Founder of BizCrunch (exited founder, M&A investor)
Each week we dive into the real-world challenges of small- & mid-market acquisitions—especially in the UK & EU.
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Featured News
• Sofware launches—new Poland-focused ETA search fund.
• Astra Holdings completes 2nd deal (Acorn Engineering) after IntoDoor UK.
• Serial Acquirer Symposium set for *18 June (London)*—tickets live now: https://lu.ma/9ijq4sw9
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