Acquisition theses for the AI shift.

AI is changing which businesses are worth owning. The ones that matter are often outside an acquirer's usual market, holding the data, capability or customers its AI strategy needs, and they rarely show up on a sector screen. We find them, build the case with named and qualified targets, and introduce the parties.

Work

Where we add value

Core focus

Non-obvious acquisition targets for the AI shift

AI is changing which businesses are valuable. Proprietary data, capture capability, specialist teams and regulated workflows that once looked like ordinary services are becoming strategic assets. The best targets rarely show up on a sector screen.

We look outside an acquirer's usual market for businesses that already hold what its AI strategy needs, often in industries it has never considered buying into.

Each thesis starts from the acquirer's own AI strategy and deal history, and comes with named, desk-checked targets: who owns them, how big they are and why they fit. Paid on completion.

Catalyst-led origination for investors

Dated, sourced views of the events that create investment opportunities, including where AI adoption, regulation and spending are forcing change, delivered before the market prices them.

Specialist property and structured finance

Introductions between borrowers, lenders and capital providers in UK specialist lending, a market where AI is changing how credit is assessed and priced.

Ownership

We acquire profitable UK businesses to own for the long term, typically with turnover above £1m, where AI can make a well-run business more productive.

We also help individuals, family offices and investor groups find and assess businesses to buy. When we act for a client, we don't compete with them for the same business.

Approach

From thesis to completion

Thesis
Start from the acquirer: its deal history, AI strategy and gaps, and what it should buy next.
Qualified targets
Named companies, checked for ownership, size, data and capability, and willingness to talk.
Introduction
Warm, documented introductions between principals.
Completion
A success fee, agreed in writing before any names are shared.

Current theses

What we're working on

Physical-AI data capture as a bolt-on for a listed data-services group.
Dual-use AI and autonomy businesses repositioning for Europe's rearmament cycle.
Owner-managed UK professional services firms where AI is reshaping the economics and bringing succession forward.
AI-driven consolidation among UK specialist lenders and bridging platforms.

Background

Akhilesh Sharma

Founder, Akhil Partners

Previously at BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Barclays.
A decade delivering practitioner-led training to professionals at JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley and HSBC.
AI training for financial institutions and government bodies.
MSc Mathematical Finance, Bayes Business School. CISI Level 4 Diploma in Investment Advice.

Have a strategy that needs the right acquisition?

London

akhil@akhilpartners.com