Simon Plummer·December 23, 2024

From Frustrated Searcher to $3 5m Owner to Holdco Builder | Simon Plummer Interview

Simon Plummer is an Australian entrepreneur who, unable to find deal flow as a 29-year-old searcher in 2016, co-built Resolve.com.au — essentially the Australian equivalent of BizBuySell — to generate his own pipeline, then cherry-picked BT Engineering, a 60-year-old Sydney manufacturer of cult-status brick laying tools, from among 100 listings. He acquired the business in 2018 for roughly AUD $1 million at approximately 2x EBITDA ($300k equity, $450k bank debt, $450k vendor finance over 18 months), relocated from Melbourne, and spent three years operating it hands-on — including literally learning to run factory machines. Over that period he grew revenue from ~$2m to ~$3.5m, expanded direct-to-consumer internationally into the UK, US, and Canada (partly via a brick laying YouTuber partnership), then installed a professional CEO (George) to free himself up. By late 2024 he had co-founded Arbor Permanent Owners with partners Jason Andrews and Rowan Grant — a permanent-equity holdco modeled on Berkshire/Constellation/Tiny — targeting Australian SMEs generating $3–6m in EBITDA at 4x multiples, raising over AUD $10m for their first acquisition in the Materials Handling sector. A key theme throughout is the structural opportunity in Australia: no SBA equivalent, conservative banks, low multiples, and a tsunami of retiring Baby Boomer business owners with no obvious buyer.

Deal facts

purchase price: ~AUD $1m (approx.)
multiple: ~2x EBITDA
sde ebitda: ~AUD $500k (implied: $2m revenue at ~20% margin = ~$400k; purchase price ~$1m at 2x)
revenue: AUD ~$2m at acquisition; grew to ~$3.5m
financing structure: AUD $300k cash equity + AUD $450k bank debt (big four bank) + AUD $450k vendor/seller finance (18-month term, equal installments) + AUD ~$150k working capital facility
notes: Business is BT Engineering, Sydney, Australia. Founded 60 years prior. Acquired 2018. Seller was second-generation family (Jeff and Vicki, children of founder Bruce Thomas). No SBA equivalent in Australia. Arbor Permanent Owners first acquisition (separate from BT Engineering): Materials Handling sector business, 40 years old, >AUD $5m free cash flow/year; raised >AUD $10m equity plus modest bank debt, closing ~late 2024.

Why this business

Simon built Resolve.com.au (an Australian Biz Buy Sell equivalent) specifically to generate deal flow, listing 100 businesses over two years, then cherry-picked BT Engineering as the best of the lot. He was attracted to its 60-year history, cult brand status among Australian brick layers, extreme customer loyalty, low customer and product concentration, and old-school manufacturing quality that was hard to replicate on brand alone. The sellers (Jeff and Vicki) had no family successors and wanted someone who would protect staff and honor the legacy — Simon could promise that authentically, enabling him to buy at a favorable price.

What's working

Cult brand loyalty among Australian (and now international) brick layers — customers treat BT tools like Apple products in the tech world
Low customer concentration and low product concentration making the business resilient
Old-school quality manufacturing (robotic welding, CNC, lathe) differentiated from inferior imported tools
Successful international expansion: direct-to-consumer website sales to UK, US, and Canada brick layers
UK launch accelerated by partnering with a brick laying YouTuber (Charlie Collison) who grew from 20k to 1m+ followers, using discount codes rather than paid sponsorship
Installed professional CEO (George, mechanical engineer and industrial designer) enabling Simon to step back while business continues growing
Seller financing terms (vendor finance) were favorable due to trust and alignment on legacy, enabling low cash down at acquisition
Australian SME market offers low multiples (3-4x for strong businesses, 2x for BT Engineering) compared to US, creating compelling entry points

What's hard

First year was tough: severely underestimated how hands-on small business is, ended up literally operating CNC machines and making widgets himself for about 18 months
The business backend was highly unprofessional — pencil drawings for BOMs, imperial measurements (despite Australia being metric), no pricing systems, fax machines still in use
Cash flow management was extremely difficult in practice despite accounting training — had multiple hair-raising near-miss moments making payroll
Everything moves slower in a small business without scale — no budget, no people to delegate to, stuck on factory floor while strategic work waits
Getting deal flow as a young (29-year-old) buyer was nearly impossible; brokers and advisors would not take him seriously, which is what drove him to build Resolve
Waking up at 2am worrying about payroll; constant anxiety that a large competitor could replicate products and shut the business overnight
Australia lacks SBA-equivalent financing; only four major banks, all extremely conservative, requiring property-backed security and lending no more than 50% LTV
Exited Johns Ling Group equity pre-IPO, leaving potentially low-eight-figure gains on the table — a decision he has made peace with but acknowledges was a massive dollar sacrifice

Notable quotes

I think my secret source is probably a unique blend of white collar and blue collar — I can genuinely relate to general staff and at the same time have an eye on the cash flow of the business and understand more technical and commercial matters.

Brick layers in Australia talk about BT Engineering the same way computer buffs talk about Apple — there's this sense of camaraderie that they helped build the business, that the customers and the business are one and the same.

Waking up at 2am thinking you're going to vomit from the stress of making payroll — that's a feeling that you wouldn't wish on anyone. That's the sort of stuff that you get in the small business world.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a great job paying a great wage that supports a family that you can more or less switch off at 5pm on a Friday night. That is a fantastic outcome, and do not ever let anyone tell you otherwise.