Buy, Run, Build: A Guide to Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition - Hardcover

by Charles Skinner (Author)

* SHORTLISTED FOR THE BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS 2026*

'This book is fun to read, exciting to apply, and profitable to implement.' Sir John Kay, economist

Buying an established company - rather than creating a start-up from scratch - is an increasingly popular path to success for many entrepreneurs. So what's stopping you?

Let's face it - starting a business is stressful, time-consuming and often ends in failure. Buying into an existing business (known as Entrepreneurship through acquisition or ETA) is becoming a popular alternative, and it's not surprising. An existing business already has customers, suppliers and staff; from day one, you can make a positive impact on the company and the people you are working with, rather than risking everything on a new venture.

Whether you are an MBA graduate, a successful corporate manager looking to strike out on your own, or someone who would rather run a business than work for one, Buy, Run, Build is your go-to guide on how to do ETA yourself, and contains all the tools you'll need to embark on this new chapter of your life.

Buy, Run, Build is rooted in real-life business experience and Charles Skinner's own insights as an industry specialist. With over 30 years' experience of running listed companies and acquiring tiny companies and turning them into national champions, Charles shares the secrets of his successes - and the invaluable lessons he's learnt from his failures - and guides you through the dos and don'ts of ETA:
- Finding and valuing companies;
- Funding acquisitions and negotiating deals;
- Managing acquired businesses and running fast-growing businesses, and;
- Most importantly - what to do when things go wrong.

So if you want to run a company, what are you waiting for?

Author Biography

Charles Skinner is an industry specialist in Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition. As CEO, he took one company worth £3m and built it into a business which sold for £100m. With another company he ran, the share price went up 30-fold, now worth £300m, and was AIM Company of the Year in 2016. Charles is an adviser to an ETA search fund, Mentmore Associates, and he currently chairs four private companies. Charles was also editor of the magazine, Management Today. He is an honorary fellow of Oriel College, University of Oxford.