Ryan Sullivan: North Park Group's 20-Year Hold on Legacy US Manufacturing

The Setup Ryan Sullivan spent his whole career inside manufacturing. Navy nuclear power plants, telecoms, building products, industrial products. In his mid-40s he ran a family-owned holding company with five operating businesses, about $150M in revenue. He led acquisitions there, closing six US-based manufacturing deals in four years, typically $500K to $2M of EBITDA. When he spun out in December 2021 with partner Greg Toble to form North Park Group, he brought that exact playbook with him. This time for his own account, funded by a network of investors. Ryan is risk-averse by his own admission. His initial plan was to deploy $2M to $3M of personal capital into one or two businesses and operate them. Greg talked him into a bigger structure. Raise from friends, family, and professional network deal-by-deal. Buy more businesses. Diversify across a portfolio. The pitch to investors sounds like private equity, but returns come from operating cash flow, not exits. The plan is to hold these companies for 20 years or more. The Deals Four acquisitions in 27 months, fifth under LOI as of summer 2024. Electron (Wichita, KS), closed May 2022. A 100-year-old electrical terminal block maker supplying HVAC and appliance OEMs. About $8M revenue, $500K to $700K EBITDA, 30+ employees. Two seller-employees who had bought the business from the prior owner were retiring. Greg ran it from a Wichita apartment with two mattresses on the floor. Phoenix Electric (Chicago, IL), August 2022. Dominant US producer of brush holders for DC motors. $5M revenue, $1.7M EBITDA, roughly 30 employees. Two brothers retiring. Ryan had first talked to them 2-3 years earlier. The building sat next to Wrigley Field, so best use was retail and condos. The team moved the business six miles and retained 100% of employees. Dickey (security seals for shipping containers and USPS), March 2024. $6M revenue, $500K EBITDA. NeverLeak (Mississippi, across the border from Memphis), April 2024. Roof pipe flashings. $8M revenue, $1.5M EBITDA, 10 employees. Scott Martin, a 15-year manufacturing colleague of Ryan's, personally guaranteed this deal and runs it. Entry multiples run around 4x EBITDA. They buy the real estate alongside the business every time. 25-year amortization on 504 building loans, sellers get a full clean exit instead of becoming landlords, and employees read the real-estate purchase as a signal the new owners are staying. Capital Structure Aggregate debt-to-equity runs about 50/50. On business debt alone, closer to 30/70. On the buildings, 85% debt via 504. They don't blend the 7(a) and 504 loans. The business stays on 10-year 7(a) amortization, the real estate on 25-year 504. Across four deals: roughly $20M of debt against $14M of equity. Every deal is stress-modeled to a 40% to 50% revenue decline. The business still covers debt service at that level. Ryan has lived through enough downturns (2008 housing crash, COVID) to believe this is the only capital structure that lets him sleep with personal guarantees outstanding. Investor economics mirror traditional PE in form: 8% preferred return, 10% management fee on adjusted...