Front Line Capital — Lower Middle Market Private Equity

What We Do

Operational capital for the real economy.

Front Line Capital focuses exclusively on lower middle market businesses in construction and trade services — sectors most institutional PE firms ignore. We understand how these businesses run because we've built and operated them ourselves.

Our mandate is straightforward: find well-run businesses whose owners are ready for a transition, provide a fair exit, and then install the operational infrastructure that unlocks the next chapter of growth. We don't just write checks. We build dashboards, hire people, and fix the systems.

Read Our Approach →

01

Acquisition

We source construction and trades businesses through direct outreach, industry relationships, and Michael Gligic's national deal origination network. No auctions. No brokers unless necessary.

02

Integration

Julia Belza leads our post-acquisition playbook. In weeks, not months, every company gets financial reporting, KPI dashboards, and operational systems tailored to how they actually work.

03

Value Creation

We build toward a company that runs without its founder — organized, documented, and scalable. That's what drives value and protects everyone's investment.

Sectors We Target

Where we know the terrain.

We don't chase trends. We invest in businesses doing essential physical work — the kind that can't be offshored, automated out, or replaced by software.

⚒️

Drilling & Blasting

Specialized civil construction services for quarry operators, municipalities, and infrastructure developers. High barrier to entry, strong recurring revenue.

🏗

General Construction

Structural, civil, and specialty contractors with established project pipelines and owner-operator management teams ready for a transition.

🔧

Trades & Mechanical

HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and maintenance services companies with commercial and industrial client bases. Fragmented sector with consolidation opportunity.

🏨

Hospitality & Real Estate

Boutique resort, short-term rental, and hospitality assets with real estate backing. We operate and develop, not just hold.

Featured Portfolio Company

Frank's Drilling & Blasting.

An Ontario-based drilling and blasting contractor serving quarry operators, municipalities, and civil construction projects across Eastern Ontario. When Front Line Capital acquired Frank's, the business was running almost entirely on paper.

3

Weeks to full ERP

100%

Paper eliminated

6

Custom modules built

$0

SaaS licensing cost

Read the Full Story →

Front Line Capital Advisory

Operational transformation led by Julia Belza.

Our advisory division works with construction and trades businesses that aren't acquisition targets but need the same operational infrastructure we install in our own portfolio companies.

Financial systems, KPI reporting, job costing, margin tracking, team structures — Julia brings the post-acquisition playbook directly to business owners who want to grow, or who are preparing for a future sale.

Julia is also a featured speaker at CONEXPO, AGC, NDA, and the Canadian Construction Association — addressing business owners on operational readiness and valuation drivers.

Financial Reporting ERP Deployment Job Costing Org Design Pre-Sale Readiness M&A Advisory

Front Line Capital Advisory →

The Team

Operators who invest.

Meet the Team →

Victor Sagar

LP, Head of Acquisitions

Off-market deal sourcing and acquisition structuring. Director of Off-Market Investment Sales with a decade of transactional experience across Ontario and Western Canada.

Connor Paddon

Founder & Managing Partner

Serial entrepreneur. Built and operated businesses across construction services, resort development, and real estate in Ontario. Leads deal origination and capital allocation.

Michael Gligic

GP, Operator — Frank's Drilling & Blasting

PGA Tour professional. National deal origination, relationship management, and front-end acquisition process. Connects with business owners in ways most investment professionals cannot.

How We Operate

Governing Principles.

We hold ourselves to a set of operating principles that guide every acquisition, every board interaction, and every conversation with a founder.

🤝

Founder-First Transactions

We don't buy businesses in auctions. We build relationships with owners over time, understand what they've built, and only proceed when the fit is right for both sides.

📊

Data Before Capital

Before any significant capital deployment, we install reporting. Bank reconciliations, job costing, P&L by project — no surprises after close means no bad decisions after close.

👷

Retain the People

The workforce is the business. We maintain 100% retention through acquisitions because disrupting the team is the fastest way to destroy the value you just paid for.

⚙️

Build Systems, Not Dependence

Every company we acquire should be able to run without its founder within 18 months. Not because founders aren't valuable — because it makes the business stronger.

💰

Share the Upside

Crews that come in under budget share in the savings. Management that hits KPIs earns real equity. We align incentives at every level.

📈

Long-Term Ownership

We are not a 5-year flip fund. We build businesses to last and create the optionality for a future exit on our terms — not a fund timeline's terms.

Perspectives

Thinking from the field.

All Perspectives →

ERP & Operations

Why Construction Businesses Run on Gut Instinct — And How to Change That Without Breaking What Works

A look inside the Frank's Drilling & Blasting digital transformation: what we built, why we built it the way we did, and what it means for the business three months later.

The Three Things Construction Business Owners Get Wrong When Preparing for a Sale

Most trades businesses are worth 60–70% of what they could be at exit. Julia Belza on the systems, documentation, and financial infrastructure that move the number.

Why the Best Construction Deals Never Hit a Broker's List

The lower middle market doesn't work like institutional PE. Owners sell to people they trust, not the highest bidder. How Michael Gligic builds those relationships at scale.

We acquire construction businesses and make them last.