Torge Barkholtz doesn’t deal in jargon. Nor does he try to dress up succession investing with flashy growth projections or hollow promises. In this conversation with Private Equity Insights at Switzerland’s Largest PE Conference, he reveals that what he’s building at Novastone Partners is far subtler and, arguably, far more ambitious: a re-engineering of how ownership changes hands in the often-overlooked world of SMEs.

A founder with ventures spanning gourmet food, clean mobility, and sustainability, Barkholtz now operates at the intersection of entrepreneurship and private equity. “This is my sweet spot,” he says. But his entry into the space came with a different lens. “My background is entrepreneurial, but I’ve always been eager to learn and adapt.”

From builder to steward

Barkholtz didn’t just join Novastone Partners, he helped shape it. “I co-founded the company and built it up together with Christian Malek,” he explains. But he’s quick to credit what came before. “The most important part, the Novastone Capital Advisors structure, was already live. That foundation was crucial.”

What makes the platform unique, he says, is its capacity to marry entrepreneurial drive with institutional scaffolding. “When you set up a startup, you don’t have anything. You build from zero. Now I can rely on a sector and private equity experts with a track record. It’s like Wonderland to me.”

At the heart of Novastone Partners’ approach is the Operator – a mid-career professional, often with 15 to 20 years of industry experience, who searches for a company, leads the acquisition, and steps in as CEO.

“They don’t want to start a startup,” Barkholtz says. “They want to take over something and build it. It’s a different mindset. You need to be robust.”

This model brings the buyer and the seller into alignment. “Sellers are a little bit suspicious sometimes of traditional private equity,” he explains. “They want to keep their legacy. And with our mid-career professionals, they see their successor. It sounds romantic, but it’s reality.”

Operators are incentivised to stay for the long haul. “They get 10% at the beginning. If they reach KPIs, like a certain IRR threshold, they get another 10%. So they’re truly owners.” 

Structure behind the soul

The Operator model addresses one of private equity’s biggest PR problems: its image as impersonal, extractive, and short-termist. “This is a new generation of ownership, a new generation of leadership,” Barkholtz says. “They’re not consultants. They’re not interim. They’re owners.”

And when Novastone Partners exits? “Even when we are out, they are still in. That’s the point.”

Operators are supported by the 50+ person team at Novastone Capital Advisors across legal, M&A, HR, data, and portfolio management. “You’re not doing it alone,” Barkholtz says. “You have a team, you have data, you have people who know the game.”

That support begins long before a deal closes. Each year, roughly 3,500 professionals apply to join the programme. Over a three-month selection period, they undergo a seven-stage assessment – from aptitude and leadership testing to in-depth interviews. Only around 1% make it through. “It’s intense,” says Barkholtz. “But by the end, we know our Operators extremely well. Their strengths, their weaknesses. It’s not a black box.”

Successful candidates then spend up to 24 months searching for a business, while being closely supported and observed by the Novastone Partners team. The result? Deep mutual trust, well before any acquisition ever takes place.

A decentralised model for a fragmented market

Novastone Partners focuses on SMEs with $3m to $10m EBITDA, recurring revenues, and a clear leadership gap.

“These are profitable companies with no succession plan,” Barkholtz says. “We don’t do restructuring. It’s not about keeping everything like it is. It’s about development.”

He describes their CEOs as hands-on, team-first operators. “Not someone in a corner office. Someone who walks the floor.”

While Novastone Capital Advisors operates across Europe and North America, operators search locally. “Someone in Spain looks for a company in Spain. Someone in Poland looks in Poland,” he explains. “Language is the most critical thing.”

Still, the centralised RAIF fund structure in Luxembourg supports cross-border deals. “From our European side, we’re focusing on European investments. Our US team does the same across North America.”

The firm also leverages a growing internal data engine, compiled from every operator’s sourcing journey. “We don’t do free deal sourcing. But every deal search feeds into our database. It’s all about building knowledge.”

Dealmaking & development

Asked what really drives value, Barkholtz doesn’t hesitate: “It’s not just managing. It’s developing.”

Operators bring sector-specific insight. NCA brings structure. Together, they deliver transformation that extends beyond the balance sheet and into company culture, workforce stability, and customer confidence.

“There’s a succession crisis rolling towards us,” he says. “And customers, vendors, employees want to know that a company has a future. That it’s not being hollowed out.”

Novastone Partners is sector-agnostic but cautious. “We avoid capital-intensive industries and hyper-growth tech,” Barkholtz notes. “Where we shine is in business services, MedTech, HealthTech, and engineering.”

It’s less about the product, more about the potential. “You have to look at the risk profile of the company – how tariffs, regulation, or politics could affect growth. It’s about making good calls, not just good deals.”

Private equity, with empathy

For Barkholtz, the real differentiator is intent. “I challenge the idea that private equity is always short-term or clinical,” he says. “Our operators are not financially pushed. They’re driven by experience and empathy. They don’t lead with Excel sheets. They lead with common sense.”

He returns to a central theme: “It’s all about taking responsibility.”

With 23 acquisitions already closed, and more on the horizon, Novastone Partners is building a new playbook for the generational handover of Europe’s business backbone.

In Barkholtz’s world, private equity is neither a saviour nor a villain. It’s a tool that works best when handled by people who know the weight of legacy. 

by Andreea Melinti 

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