Sector
- Vertical-market & B2B software
- Technology-enabled services
- Asset-light operators, e.g. managed IT
Succession Partners · United Kingdom
A permanent home for the company you built.
AION acquires one outstanding UK software or technology business and commits to operating it for the long term. A single, dedicated owner. A horizon measured in decades. The people, customers and legacy you built, carried forward.
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ai·on noun
From the Greek αιών: an age; a span of time without end. We measure ourselves the same way.
An entrepreneur and operator, not a fund chasing the next exit. Backed by entrepreneurial and institutional investors.
0+Years operating & investing in software
0Software companies under P&L ownership
£0mCombined revenue operated
0+M&A transactions executed
Philosophy
Succession, measured in decades.
Most buyers optimise for the exit. A fund holds for three to five years, improves the numbers, and sells to the next owner. AION is built differently. We acquire one business, and we intend to keep it. That single decision changes everything: how we treat employees, how we invest, how we weigh risk, and the promises we can make to you about what happens after you step back.
One business
We are not assembling a portfolio. The company we acquire receives our full and undivided attention.
A decade, and beyond
Our base horizon is ten years, with every intention of holding longer. Patience is the strategy.
Operators, not spectators
Wernher steps in to run the business day to day, accountable for it, not managing from a spreadsheet.
Continuity over churn
Your team, your customers and your name carry forward. Legacy is not a slogan here; it is the mandate.
The finest businesses are not built to be sold. They are built to endure — and so is the home we intend to give one of them.
The Founder
Built and led software companies. Now buying one to keep.
Wernher founded AION to do one thing well: acquire a single outstanding business and run it for the long term.
He brings more than a decade across operating and investing in software companies. At Everfield, a European software group, he held P&L responsibility for eight portfolio companies with combined revenue near £40m, drove their organic growth, and served as interim Co-CEO of one while a permanent successor was recruited.
Before operating, he advised. As an M&A banker at Lazard and Barclays, Wernher worked on more than twenty transactions across technology, media and telecommunications, healthcare, industrials and business services.
He is based in the United Kingdom and grew up in Switzerland. Beyond business, he is a devoted husband, a finisher of several international marathons, and a keen skier.
Everfield · Strategic Business Partner
Lazard · M&A
Barclays · M&A
Selected transactions from his advisory years
What we look for
A deliberately narrow mandate.
A focused brief lets us move quickly, with conviction, when the right business appears. If yours is close but not exact, we would still like to hear from you.
The business
- A genuine succession situation
- Mission-critical to its customers
- High share of recurring revenue
- Consistent cash generation
Geography
- United KingdomHeadquartered and operating in the UK.
Financials
- £1–50mRevenue
- £0.5–5mEBITDA, at a margin of 10% or more
Introductions are held in the strictest confidence, whether or not there is a fit.
What we offer
A partnership shaped around the seller.
Selling the business you built is rarely only a financial decision. AION is structured to honour that.
01
A sustainable solution for succession
A long-term home that protects the interests of your customers and your employees, led by an owner who is there to stay.
02
Proven growth and profitability
Deep, hands-on experience professionalising and growing technology businesses through both organic and inorganic strategies.
03
Flexibility on deal structure
A flexible approach that can be shaped to your preferences, whether you want a clean exit or a phased, ongoing role.
04
Transparency and confidentiality
A process built on creating a win for both sides, conducted with discretion from the first conversation to completion.
Operating track record
Value created, business by business.
As a Strategic Business Partner at Everfield, Wernher led strategic growth, pricing and go-to-market initiatives across a portfolio of niche software companies.
DepotnetField management, telecom & utilities
FitfactoryMRP/ERP, manufacturing
KOSTInventory & POS, care & catering
helloTessPOS, catering & hospitality
ondesoOperational technology automation
VSXCPQ software, fluid handling
FenzInventory management, food
SoComERP, textiles
Matrix POSPOS, hotel & gastronomy
ParkHereSmart parking softwareMilestones spanned CEO succession, price and packaging optimisation, international go-to-market, financial reporting, and multi-year growth planning.
Board of advisors
Counsel from people who have done this before.
AION is supported by a board with deep experience in SME succession, software investing, and building businesses through change.
AFINUM ManagementDr. Gernot Eisinger
Founder & Managing Partner, AFINUM
Co-founded AFINUM in 2000 with a focus on SME succession. Two decades of corporate-succession and SME-management experience, having accompanied dozens of entrepreneurs through transition.
LinkedIn
CapforceJan Van der Beke
Co-founder, Capforce
Co-founded Capforce, a long-term investment holding focused on operational partnership. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, with private-equity experience across the UK and Vietnam in consumer goods and healthcare.
LinkedIn
Target GlobalFelix Leuschner
Serial entrepreneur & investor
Founded Drover, the UK car-subscription platform acquired by Cazoo in 2021. An active angel investor across 70+ startups and a Venture Partner at Target Global; previously founded Stylistpick and GameGoods.
LinkedIn
How it works
A conversation, not a campaign.
There is no obligation and no pressure. The first step is simply a private conversation.
1
A private conversation
We meet, in confidence and without obligation, to understand your business and what matters to you.
2
Mutual fit
If there is a basis to proceed, we agree how a transition could work and exactly what you want to protect.
3
A funded, structured process
AION runs a professional, well-financed acquisition with clear terms and a realistic timeline.
4
Transition and continuity
Wernher takes the helm. You step back on your terms, with your team, customers and legacy intact.
Many conversations lead nowhere, and that is perfectly fine. We would rather earn your trust slowly than rush a decision that defines your life's work.
Careers
For the curious.
From time to time AION works with an exceptional student or recent graduate drawn to acquisition entrepreneurship, software investing, and the craft of running small companies well.
Internships & apprenticeships
Expect real responsibility from week one, direct mentorship from the founder, and a close view of how a single business is sourced, bought and built.
- Live deal screening and diligence support
- Market and software-sector research
- A front-row seat to operating decisions
Contact
Start a conversation.
Whether you are exploring succession for the first time or ready to move, a confidential conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. If you know an owner who might benefit, we welcome the introduction too.
Thank you. Your note has reached Wernher directly, and you will hear back shortly.
