Lorraine Capital has a specific niche in the much bigger private equity world.
The Buffalo firm seeks out strong management teams to support either growth or succession planning, then calls on its network of investors to source specific deals.
The company has scored hits in the acquisition and subsequent sale of Bush Industries and Bariatric Fusion, positioning those companies for new generations of growth in Western New York.
Now it is taking its model to Rochester, hiring Richard Owens as a managing director. A Rochester native, Owens comes over from KeyBank, where he was a middle market relationship manager.
While Lorraine has made investments in firms outside Buffalo, this is an attempt to make an impact on the Rochester community.
“Lorraine’s approach is one that will resonate here, because there are a lot of businesses that have reached the point where the owner is looking to take some money off the table,” Owens said. “We’re looking to replicate what they’ve done in Buffalo, and hopefully bring our communities together in our own little way.”
Owens said Lorraine Capital’s model compares to a bank in that it partners with strong management teams that already exist, instead of buying a company and bringing administrative expertise from outside.
“That’s attractive to me because Rochester is a strong business community with folks who are looking to get to the next level,” he said. “We want to partner with them to do that.”
Lorraine Capital partner Justin Reich said that as the firm eyed expansion, it was important to get boots on the ground in a market with similar characteristics to Buffalo.
“We’re really a partner with management teams,” he said. “Our goal is to connect with them and understand how they can grow their businesses. We think the only way to do that is to be local.”
Though mergers and acquisitions activity is burgeoning amidst a national economic recovery, Reich said there are few capital sources that offer his firm’s investment premise.
“When PE works it’s a win-win,” Reich said. “So if we recreate our success in Buffalo then it will be very good for us, it will be good for our partners in Rochester and it will be good for the communities.”
