12: M&A Zing (Ep. 12) – From McKinsey to Machine Shops: Amit Rai’s Permanent-Capital Playbook

n this episode, host Gareth Hawkins interviews Amit Rai, co-founder of Astra Holdings, a UK serial acquirer that provides “a permanent home” for industrial SMEs. Amit explains how watching his father shutter a profitable Indian factory drove him to solve the succession crisis facing half of Britain’s private-sector GDP. After stints at McKinsey, Microsoft and a venture-backed startup exit to Shell, he’s now rolling up asset-light engineering firms—and layering in cloud tools, IoT and AI to boost productivity. Amit details Astra’s first two deals—IntoDoor (industrial door maintenance) and Acorn Engineering (hospital pipework refurbishment)—and the simple tech wins that add immediate EBITDA. He contrasts Astra’s perpetual-capital model with private equity’s flip-cycle, shares sourcing tactics, and lays out a 10-year vision: 30–40 companies, bi-monthly acquisitions and an IPO. If you’re curious about UK industrials, Nordic-style serial acquirers or how AI is sneaking onto factory floors,