Who is Stonehouse Corporation?
Stonehouse Corporation is a financial buyer based in Australia.
Stonehouse Corporation
- Type
- financial buyer
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Website
- stonehousecorp.com
- Company page
How they work
Stonehouse Corporation is a Melbourne-based, AFSL-licensed (432001) permanent-capital acquirer, founded in 2012 by Charles (Charlie) Jennings, that buys majority-to-100% stakes in established Australasian businesses and stewards them indefinitely rather than reselling them, modelled explicitly on the Berkshire Hathaway long-term-ownership playbook. Charlie Munger made a personal LP investment in 2022, calling it 'the Berkshire playbook all over again.'
Stonehouse describes a permanent-ownership operating model rather than a staged transaction process: once acquired, businesses keep operating under existing management, with a small head-office team acting as an engaged but unobtrusive partner. It states it sells only 'to another business owner, not someone looking to profit on resale' and holds acquisitions with no predetermined exit horizon. Stonehouse does not publish a diligence checklist, signing timetable or step-by-step transaction process.
- Sector focus
- Industry agnostic. Will consider businesses with good market positions, excellent customer experience and strong free cash flow; family business successions; operationally underperforming or balance-sheet-challenged businesses; and opportunistic situations (disputes, turnarounds, restructures, carve-outs).
- Geography
- Australia and New Zealand (Australasia); all target operating businesses.
- Ownership
- Permanent ownership / business stewardship model. Post-acquisition, subsidiaries operate autonomously; a small HQ team acts as an engaged but unobtrusive partner to management. Does not resell or rebrand acquisitions.
- Majority or minority
- Majority ownership required (51-100%), with an explicit preference for 100% acquisitions.
- Platform or bolt-on
- Primarily acquires standalone platform businesses above the EBIT floor; will also consider smaller bolt-on acquisitions below that floor.
- Target EBITDA
- Minimum historical earnings of $5 million EBIT (source states EBIT specifically, not EBITDA), or smaller bolt-ons considered below that floor.
- Investment size
- Equity investment from $10 million to unlimited.
- Capital model
- Permanent/evergreen capital raised from long-duration LP partnerships (structured to extend to 2052), not a fixed-life PE fund; partners, team and subsidiaries also co-invest opportunistically; currently closed to new investors.
- Hold period
- Permanent / indefinite; explicitly states it sells 'to another business owner, not someone looking to profit on resale' and 'stewards businesses for the long-term' with no predetermined exit horizon.
- Capital
- More than $150,000,000-$155,000,000 AUD in committed capital (fact sheet states '>$150m ... plus scope for much larger deals'; who-we-are page states 'more than $155,000,000 AUD'); Limited Partners collectively represent well over $100B AUD in investible assets (educational endowments, family offices, charitable organisations and business leaders in Australia, the UK and the US).
- Founder ownership
- Founded in Melbourne in 2012 by Charles (Charlie) Jennings. Current team (per Who We Are page) includes Charlie Jennings, Mark Johnson, Kavan Threadgold, Shannon Reardon, Matt Rhodes-Kropf, Natalie Nugent and Brent Fuller. Exact equity ownership split between founder/team/LPs is not publicly disclosed.
Their portfolio
- SectorManufacture and distribution of portable cooling products (ice boxes, coolers, 12V fridges) for outdoor recreationWhat they doManufactures and distributes portable cooling products, including ice boxes, coolers and 12V fridges, for camping, fishing and outdoor recreation; founded 1994 and based in Caloundra, QLD.
- SectorSpecialist interstate horse and thoroughbred transportWhat they doAustralia's premier transporter of horses, moving thoroughbreds and other horses for studs, sales, trials and races nationally; founded 1945 and based in Sydney, NSW.
- SectorCommercial horticulture / plant nursery and supplyWhat they doSupplies high-quality plants and nursery stock to commercial and wholesale customers across Australia; founded 2001 and based in Kinglake, VIC.
Sources
- stonehousecorp.com · portfolio page
- static1.squarespace.com · research
- fool.com.au · research
- stonehousecorp.com · research
- stonehousecorp.com · research
- stonehousecorp.com · research
- stonehousecorp.com · research
- stonehousecorp.com · research
- stonehousecorp.com · website