Arlington Capital Advisors

What Arlington Capital Advisors does

Arlington Capital Advisors, LLC is a privately held boutique investment bank founded in 2004 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides M&A advisory, debt and equity capital markets advisory, and strategic advisory services exclusively to consumer-facing businesses. The firm concentrates on four interconnected verticals: food & beverage (craft breweries, wineries, spirits brands, RTDs, soft drinks, and beverage distributors), restaurants (fast casual, casual dining, and specialty concepts), franchising and multi-unit businesses, and retail and consumer products. Over its history, Arlington has completed more than 50 transactions representing approximately $6 billion in aggregate transaction volume over the last five years, with clients served across five continents.

The firm operates a relationship-driven, senior-led delivery model through a team of roughly 11–50 professionals including Founder & Managing Director Vann Russell, four Managing Directors (Dai Truong, Stephan Pietge, Townsend Ziebold, Wade Honeycutt), a Partner & Strategic Advisor, Vice Presidents, Directors, a Senior Advisor, and junior banking staff. Select client engagements include the Dogfish Head/Boston Beer merger, Pure Barre's investment from Catterton, Taco Mac's acquisition by Fresh Hospitality, Beavertown Brewery's transactions with Heineken, Urban Plates' $38 million debt facility with Goldman Sachs, Velvet Taco's growth investment from Leonard Green, Stone Brewing's sale to Sapporo, and 2025–2026 mandates across Northern Monk, Bill's Distributing, The Finnish Long Drink, and The Gambrinus Company.

Arlington generates revenue through transaction-based success fees on M&A advisory, capital raising fees on debt and equity financings, and professional services fees on strategic advisory mandates. Distribution is exclusively through direct senior-banker relationships, with no digital or intermediated channel; the firm carries no proprietary technology product. Certain principals are licensed through an affiliated broker-dealer, Arlington Capital Services, LLC (FINRA/SIPC member), enabling the delivery of integrated advisory and brokerage services.

Name

Arlington Capital Advisors

Legal name

Arlington Capital Advisors, LLC

Website

https://arlingtoncapitaladvisors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arlington Capital Advisors is a privately held boutique investment bank, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides M&A, capital raising, and strategic advisory services exclusively to consumer-facing businesses in food & beverage, restaurants, franchising, and retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Banking Advisory

NAICS

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523), Miscellaneous Intermediation (52391)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side) (BPAHAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Capital Raising Advisory (Equity & Equity-Linked) (FSAEAGAC), Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE), Corporate Finance Advisory (Strategic Finance, Capital Structure & Recaps) (FSAEAGAE), Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)

Keywords

• Investment banking services
• Mergers and acquisitions advisory
• Capital markets advisory
• Strategic advisory services
• Consumer sector advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. M&A Advisory Fees: Fees earned from advising on mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures of consumer businesses. Transaction-based revenue typically structured as success fees or retainers.
2. Capital Raising Advisory: Fees from assisting companies in raising debt or equity capital, including growth equity financing and recapitalizations.
3. Strategic Advisory: Consulting fees for corporate strategy, pre-transaction planning, and strategic alternatives assessment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Arlington Capital Advisors is a boutique investment bank that advises consumer businesses on mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, debt and equity capital raises, and strategic alternatives. The firm delivers four service lines — M&A Advisory, Debt Capital Markets Advisory, Equity Capital Raises, and Strategic Advisory — through a senior team serving food & beverage, restaurant, retail, and franchising clients globally.

Product overview

Arlington Capital Advisors is a boutique investment bank offering advisory services exclusively to consumer businesses. The firm provides four interconnected service lines: Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory (helping clients execute buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions), Debt Capital Markets Advisory (assisting with debt financing and capital structure), Equity Capital Raises (supporting growth equity fundraising), and Strategic Advisory (providing consulting on corporate strategy and pre-transaction planning). These services are delivered by a team of investment banking professionals and are not software or technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory Advisory services for merger, acquisition, recapitalization, and strategic alternatives transactions in consumer-facing industries including food & beverage, restaurants, retail, and franchising.
• Debt Capital Markets Advisory

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Arlington Capital Services, LLCcoreOthersLicensed affiliate providing FINRA/SIPC brokerage services. Certain principals of Arlington Capital Advisors are licensed through this affiliated entity, enabling the firm to provide comprehensive advisory and brokerage services to clients.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cascadia Capital: Seattle-based boutique investment bank with a dedicated consumer/food & beverage practice. Directly comparable to Arlington in size, sector focus, and M&A-led business model for middle-market consumer companies.
• Headwaters MB: Boutique M&A advisory firm focused on consumer products, food & beverage, and retail. Closely comparable to Arlington in deal size range, vertical specialization, and relationship-driven origination model.
• Brentwood Capital Advisors: Nashville-based boutique investment bank advising consumer and growth companies on M&A and capital raises. Closely matches Arlington's mid-market focus, and is a known prior employer of an Arlington MD, indicating direct talent flow between the two firms.
• Harris Williams: Middle-market M&A advisor with dedicated consumer and restaurants/food & beverage groups. Overlaps directly with Arlington on consumer M&A mandates but operates with a broader sector portfolio and larger team.
• Lincoln International: Global middle-market M&A advisor with a consumer practice. Competes with Arlington on cross-border consumer mandates while offering deeper sector breadth and global coverage in Europe and Asia.
• Peter J. Solomon Company: Independent advisory firm with a strong consumer and retail practice. Closely comparable boutique advisory model targeting middle-market and large-cap consumer transactions.

Broad incumbents

• Piper Sandler Consumer Investment Banking: Diversified middle-market investment bank with a sizable consumer practice. Overlaps with Arlington on F&B and restaurant mandates but offers capital markets, equity research, and balance-sheet capabilities Arlington cannot match.
• Raymond James Consumer Investment Banking: Large diversified financial services firm with a consumer practice (built via Financo). Competes with Arlington on mid-market consumer M&A but offers broader capital markets and wealth management capabilities.
• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank with dedicated consumer, restaurants, and food & beverage teams. Competes with Arlington on consumer M&A and capital raising but operates at a much larger scale with corporate finance and financial restructuring breadth.
• Stifel Consumer & Retail Investment Banking: Diversified middle-market bank with a consumer and retail investment banking group. Overlaps with Arlington on restaurant and beverage M&A but offers broader equity capital markets and research capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arlington-capital-advisors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arlington Capital Advisors