If you are looking to buy a business in Portugal, the first surprise is how few good ones are for sale. Most owners of small and medium-sized companies never advertise. They sell through personal contacts, or not at all. The deals worth buying are mostly off-market, which means you have to go and find them.
What finding one good target actually involves
Behind a single serious conversation there is usually a long chain of work:
- Build a long list. Business registers, sector codes, professional bodies and regulator lists. Each sector has its own sources, and none of them is clean.
- Size them. Revenue and headcount are what tell you whether a target fits, but reliable financials cost money or take effort to proxy.
- Contact the owners. In Portuguese, ideally, and with a reason for them to trust a stranger. Most will not reply.
- Screen for fit. Client base, dependence on the owner, margins, price expectations. Many conversations end here.
- Only then start talking about a deal.
None of it is hard. All of it takes time, and the time is spent before you have learned anything about a single business worth buying.
Your options
Do it yourself. Cheapest in cash, most expensive in time. It works well if you have the language, the local credibility and a few weeks to dedicate. It works poorly if you are abroad, or if this is one of several things you are doing.
Hire a broker on a mandate. A broker works for you, runs a bespoke search and supports you through negotiation. This is the right choice for larger or more complex deals. It costs more, usually involves a retainer or success fee, and takes time to ramp up.
Use a listings marketplace. Fast to start, but what is listed tends to be what has already been shopped around. Useful as a reference point, less so as your only source.
Buy pre-screened access. This is what Manto does. We run the sourcing and screening, and you get a shortlist of companies matched to your criteria, delivered over a fixed period for a fixed fee, with a money-back guarantee if we don't deliver. Profiles stay anonymous until you sign an introduction agreement, and any fees on an introduction are shown per company before you sign.
Who this fits, and who it does not
Pre-screened access suits investors who already know what they want to buy and would rather spend their time on conversations than on list-building. It does not replace a full mandate if you need someone to run negotiation and closing for you. In that case, a broker is the better route, and we will tell you so.
A simple way to choose
If you have time and the language, do it yourself. If you have a complex deal and budget, hire a broker. If you have a clear thesis and want to skip straight to the shortlist, this is where we come in.