Cape Ann Holdings — Acquiring and building enduring North Shore businesses

Approach

Not a fund. An owner who stays.

Most buyers in this market are private equity rollups or out-of-state searchers looking for a quick exit. We're the opposite: a local operator acquiring a business to run and hold, not to strip down and flip.

When you sell to Cape Ann Holdings, you're handing your business to someone who lives down the road, will keep the team, and intends to still own it in a decade.

Long-term hold

We buy to own, not to resell. No clock, no forced exit, no flip on a three-year horizon.

Operator-led

Built and run by an operator, not an investor. Hands-on from day one.

Local and invested

Based in Boxford with deep North Shore roots. We buy in the community we live in, not from a distance.

Continuity first

We protect what works — the people, the name, the relationships a seller spent years building.

The Operator

Eric Powers, founder of Cape Ann Holdings

Cape Ann Holdings is led by Eric Powers, a North Shore native with more than 25 years in operations and supply chain — most recently as an Executive Director of Global Supply Chain at a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company.

His career has been spent making complex operations run: planning and scheduling, inventory and logistics, vendor and contract-manufacturer relationships, and leading the cross-functional teams that hold it all together. He has owned large-scale production schedules, managed multi-site manufacturing and distribution networks, and built a long track record of cutting cost and waste while improving service levels — bringing discipline and follow-through to every operation he has run.

After 25 years building results inside large organizations, he started Cape Ann Holdings to do the same with direct ownership and visible impact: businesses he can run, improve, and hold.

Cape Ann Holdings is built to do both: launch new ventures and acquire established ones, operating them for the long term under one roof. On the acquisition side, the near-term focus is an established business he can own and operate, with involvement scaling over time — one piece of a durable portfolio of well-run local businesses on the North Shore.

What We're Looking For

Our acquisition criteria.

We're looking for one established, profitable business to own and operate — owner-involved, but not owner-dependent. We've defined exactly what fits so brokers and sellers can tell at a glance whether a conversation is worth having. Strong opportunities outside this list still get a look if the financials and structure are right.

Core sectors

Small to medium local manufacturing

Niche producers with a stable customer base, real assets, and a defensible local position.

Wholesale & retail nurseries and garden centers

Trees, plants, and growing operations with a loyal customer base and, ideally, owned land.

Design / build landscaping

Full-service landscape firms with recurring maintenance contracts and a strong crew.

Opportunistic

Self-storage

Including adjacent boat/RV and flex/industrial storage, with strong occupancy and upside.

Car washes

Express and tunnel formats preferred, ideally with the real estate and recurring revenue.

The Buy-Box

Deal parameters

Clear, firm criteria. We move quickly on the right fit and pass quickly on the wrong one — no wasted time on either side.

Target earnings: $450K minimum SDE / adjusted EBITDA. Target range $500K–$650K.
Enterprise value: Approximately $1.5M–$3.75M, depending on asset and real-estate mix.
Financing: SBA 7(a) pre-qualified to $3.0M, plus buyer equity and access to additional capital. Ready to transact.
Real estate: Strongly preferred. Deals including owned real estate — or the option to acquire it — are highly attractive.
Books: Clean, verifiable financials with provable, owner-independent cash flow at or above the floor.
Geography: Within ~50 miles of Boxford, MA for actively operated businesses; anywhere in New England for passive, manager-run opportunities.
What we don't pursue: Restaurants and food service

Operations requiring a specialized trade license the buyer doesn't hold

Pure retail storefronts

Operations carrying material environmental liability

We acquire and build enduring local businesses — and we keep them.