Relay Investments
José María Vara is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in investment management and strategic leadership. Current responsibilities include serving as Operating Partner at Relay Investments since September 2023, and prior roles include being a Member of the Board of Directors at Elcano Partners, where contributions focused on strategic oversight and senior management recruitment. Notable past positions include Chief Executive Officer and Chairman at Elcano Partners, where José María led the acquired company's operations and strategic initiatives. José María also held key roles at Oliver Wyman, including Product Director, and advised major financial institutions globally. Educational qualifications include an MBA from Stanford University and degrees in Business, Finance, and Law from Universidad Pontificia Comillas, complemented by study under an Erasmus Scholarship at the University of Tübingen.
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Relay Investments
We invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs through Search Funds. We are active in the US, Canada, and other markets. To date, we have invested in 21 countries on 6 continents. We find hidden gems in the $1-3mm EBITDA range by using the search fund model to invest in highly motivated entrepreneurs, typically graduates of top tier MBA programs. This lower end of the private equity market provides outsize return opportunity because other financial and strategic players find it too small to enter. We fund acquisitions of healthy businesses operating in fragmented markets under stable regulatory and political regimes. These companies tend to have been operating profitably for at least 3 years with B2B, recurring revenue business models and low capital intensity. Minimal customer and supplier concentration provides us with a margin of safety. The owners of our target companies generally seek retirement after a long career and view our searchers as younger versions of themselves, allowing us oftentimes to pay lower prices in competitive processes. The low entry multiples allow significant multiple expansion to improve investor IRR. We avoid investing in cyclical industries as well as those driven by commodity prices and other exogenous factors. We do not invest in start-ups, real estate, or turnarounds. If you have what it takes to source, acquire, and manage a growing SME, please don't hesitate to contact us.