Lee Smith grew up on a council estate in South London.
No capital, not even a real plan, honestly. Just a clear sense that wealth was something he wanted to figure out.
He went from DJ to jeweller to law firms to running his own IT company. Then in 2014, he discovered mergers and acquisitions. That changed everything.
Three mergers later, the business hit £2m in revenue, and it didn’t cost him anything to get there. Just combining forces with smaller companies who were stuck in the same place he’d been.
He’s now done 30 deals. Owns an HVAC company he barely understands operationally (his words). And is building two sector groups toward £10m in profit.
We got into a lot:
- Why buying 100% of a business is (almost) always the wrong structure
- What he looks for in an acquisition
- The light-touch EOS framework he installs in every business
- Why he thinks profitable SMEs will be the most valuable asset class in Britain by the end of this decade
And a whole lot more.
There’s a moment in this conversation where he talks about giving employees equity through EMI schemes.
His view: everyone involved should walk away with at least a seven-figure exit. Otherwise, what’s the point?