About

Buying a business to run, hold and grow — for the long term

Berkan Capital was founded on a simple belief: a good business should pass to someone who will look after it, run it, and grow it — not strip it apart.

Ismail Berkan

Founder & Principal

I've spent more than 30 years making businesses work better. In the corporate world I held senior executive roles — General Manager, Programme Director and Chief Information Officer — at Arkas Holding / BIMAR IT Services, Carrefour and Cargill, leading transformation, delivery and growth, and overseeing more than 500 projects.

The experience most relevant to what I'm doing now came early: I took a loss-making IT services business and turned it around — growing it to sustained profit and doubling its revenue over two years. That work was recognised by Bill Gates in 2003. Running, fixing and growing a company of exactly this kind isn't a theory for me.

In 2011 I founded Leanovus Consulting, a boutique innovation and transformation practice I have run ever since. Through Leanovus I've worked hands-on with global organisations and high-growth companies — among them PwC, Santander, General Electric, Zalando, Telefónica, Delivery Hero and Trendyol (Alibaba) — on digital transformation, lean and agile delivery, corporate innovation and market entry. That work spans e-commerce, retail, technology, gaming, banking and telecoms, and it is where most of the results in my track record were achieved.

Alongside it, I've spent over a decade inside the entrepreneurship ecosystem. I've pioneered the set-up of incubators and accelerators across Europe and beyond, established start-up bootcamps, and mentored more than 150 start-ups. I've taught technology entrepreneurship as a Stanford University mentor since 2014. It's given me a rare combination: the operational discipline to run an established business, and the innovation and growth mindset to expand it.

For years I've worked shoulder to shoulder with founders and entrepreneurs, helping them build and grow their companies. Buying and running a business of my own is a natural next step — applying that same builder's mindset not to a start-up, but to an established company with real customers, real revenue, and a team worth investing in.

I'm now focusing all of that on acquiring and personally operating an excellent UK business in technology or services, across Greater London and the South East, to run, hold and grow for the long term — supported by an experienced advisory team across law, finance, due diligence, and deal & business advisory.

Why buy, after a career of advising and operating? Because I want to pour everything I've learned into a business of my own — for the people in it, the customers who rely on it, and the founder who trusts me to carry on what they started. I'm not here to strip a business for parts. I'm here to own it, run it well, and grow it patiently.

MBA · Durham University Business School BSc (Hons) Computer and Communication Systems Stanford · Technology Entrepreneurship Mentor PMI Project Management Business Model Innovation Practitioner Lean Startup Practitioner Certified Blockchain Expert Certified Design Thinking Expert Certified Start-up & SME Mentor Course - Business Buying Accelerator
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More below — why I'm not private equity, the team behind the deal, and how to reach me

How we're different

Not a fund. Not a broker. An owner-operator.

We're not private equity

No external fund, no investment committee, no fixed exit timeline. Decisions are made by me, and I buy to own and grow.

No broker fees

We deal directly with owners. No intermediary marking up the process, no percentage skimmed from your sale.

Debt sized to reality

Where acquisition finance is used, we size it to what the business can already comfortably service — never beyond its means.

Your legacy matters

I look after the staff, the customers, and the reputation you've spent years building. I'm a builder, not an asset-stripper.

The team behind the deal

Experienced advisers, not a one-man band

I lead every conversation personally — but the transaction itself is run by a professional team, so the process is rigorous, well-advised, and moves at pace.

Legal & M&A

A lower-mid-market M&A solicitor handles the NDA, heads of terms, and the sale and purchase agreement.

Accounting & diligence

Financial due diligence and Quality of Earnings support from specialists, so the review is proportionate and fair.

Debt & equity funding

A commercial finance broker with pre-qualified lending relationships, so funding is arranged before we make an offer.

Advisory support

Serial business acquirers and owner-investors who provide guidance on strategy and mindset at critical moments.

30+
Years operating & transforming businesses
£1–6M
Target acquisition revenue
150+
Start-ups mentored & advised
~90 days
Target acquisition close time

Ready to talk?

Every conversation starts with a confidential, no-obligation call. I respond personally, usually within one business day.

Start a confidential conversation