Chantilly Investment Partners acquires founder-owned businesses in the lower middle market — companies generating $3 to $15 million in EBITDA across industrial services, business-to-business services, and niche manufacturing — and builds them through active ownership, disciplined capital, and operational engagement.
We are not a fund. We raise capital on a deal-by-deal basis, which means every investment we make is one we chose — not one we had to make to satisfy a deployment mandate. It means we can be patient when patience is warranted, decisive when the opportunity is clear, and honest when the fit is not right.
Closing a transaction is not the finish line. It is where the real work begins — and where most buyers disappear.
We do not disappear. Our involvement intensifies at close. Governance, reporting, pricing, leadership depth — these are addressed from day one, not retrofitted later. We have seen what happens when buyers hand off to a “portfolio operations team” and move on. We built Chantilly to be a different kind of owner.
Our Process
Four Steps. Fully Integrated.
01. Source with Conviction
We build relationships directly with business owners — often long before they have engaged an advisor. Our deal flow comes from relationships, not bankers’ lists. When a founder chooses to work with us, it is because they know who we are, not because we won an auction.
02. Underwrite Rigorously
We apply institutional standards to every opportunity: normalized EBITDA analysis, competitive positioning, customer concentration risk, management assessment, and capital structure design. We stress-test assumptions. We would rather walk away from a good deal than close a bad one.
03. Structure for Durability
We capitalize conservatively. Leverage should enable growth, not constrain it. We design each transaction around the business’s actual cash flow — not an optimistic scenario that requires everything to go right. Founders we partner with can feel the difference in year two.
04. Build After Close We strengthen financial reporting, improve operating systems, invest in leadership depth, establish governance frameworks, and drive the operational improvements that convert a good business into a great one. We do this alongside management — not above them, and not from a distance.
Post Close Focus Areas
Where We Add Value
Financial Reporting & Controls
Most founder-led businesses operate with financial reporting that was sufficient when the founder knew everything by instinct. We build the reporting infrastructure that allows a leadership team to make decisions with clarity and confidence — and that gives capital partners accurate visibility into what they own.
Pricing Discipline
Pricing is the single highest-leverage operational improvement available to most lower middle market businesses. We identify where margin is being left on the table, design pricing frameworks that reflect the value being delivered, and implement them in ways that strengthen rather than damage customer relationships.
Leadership Depth
Key-person risk is the most common operational vulnerability in founder-owned businesses. We invest in the management layer that reduces dependence on any one individual — creating the depth that allows a business to grow, withstand adversity, and become genuinely transferable.
Governance Frameworks
We install the board-level oversight and accountability structures that transform founder-led businesses into institutionally ready enterprises — preserving the culture and instinct that made the business successful while building the infrastructure that allows it to scale.
Strategic Focus
Growth without focus destroys value. We help management teams define what the business is truly excellent at, where the best growth opportunities lie, and what initiatives to decline — so that energy and capital are concentrated where they create the most durable returns.
Add-On Acquisitions
Where appropriate, we pursue selective add-on acquisitions that expand capability, geography, or customer reach — building platform value that creates meaningful upside for all stakeholders. We are patient and disciplined here, as we are everywhere. One bad acquisition can undo years of operational work.