Hoist Capital Partners

What Hoist Capital Partners does

Hoist Capital Partners, LLC is a Birmingham, Alabama-based private investment firm founded in 2025 by three Founding Partners — Caldwell Marks, Gaines Livingston, and Brian Heslop — all veterans of Cadence Bank's Southeastern Middle Market banking group (with additional prior tenure at Regions Bank). The firm operates as the first SBIC (Small Business Investment Company)-licensed fund in Alabama, deploying flexible debt and equity capital into lower middle market businesses with $7MM–$125MM of revenue and $2.5MM+ of EBITDA. Target industries span consumer services, manufacturing and industrial, business and professional services, transportation and logistics, healthcare and wellness, and restaurants, with primary geographic focus on Alabama and the broader Southeast United States and stated capacity to invest beyond the region.

The platform offers a modular capital stack rather than a discrete software product. Transaction types include mergers and consolidations, committed sponsor and independent sponsor deals, management buyouts, expansion capital, and debt restructuring/recapitalizations. Investment structures comprise senior debt and unitranche structures, subordinated debt, and minority equity co-invested alongside debt, typically sized at $5MM–$15MM per transaction. The firm is staffed by the three Founding Partners (1–10 employees overall per firmographic data), each a member of the Investment Committee who personally sources, leads, and executes investments; the website displays placeholder counters at zero across deals closed, dollars originated, Southeast share, and average deal size, indicating the fund is at or near inception.

The business model combines transaction-level returns (interest income, principal repayments, capital appreciation on minority equity) with the SBIC program's blend of management fees and SBA-backed leverage. Distribution is entirely direct and partner-led — there is no marketplace, intermediary, or marketing channel beyond the firm's website contact form, with deal flow sourced from the founders' 15+ years of collective Middle Market relationships and prior Cadence Bank origination track record (Brian Heslop's prior teams originated more than $2B in Middle Market transactions). Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the firm has not reported any closed transactions in the source material.

Name

Hoist Capital Partners

Legal name

Hoist Capital Partners, LLC

Website

https://hoistpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hoist Capital Partners is a Birmingham, Alabama-based private investment firm and the first SBIC-licensed fund in Alabama, deploying flexible $5MM–$15MM debt and equity capital into lower middle market businesses ($7MM–$125MM revenue, $2.5MM+ EBITDA) across the Southeast United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lower Middle Market Private Equity

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Finance and Insurance (52)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Asset Mutual Funds & UCITS (Balanced/Allocation Funds) (FSAAAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Balanced & Allocation (Multi-Asset) Funds (FSAAAEAD)

Keywords

• Private equity investing
• Lower middle market capital
• SBIC fund management
• Structured debt financing
• Middle market buyouts

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Debt investment returns: Income generated from senior debt, unitranche, and subordinated debt investments sized $5MM–$15MM in lower middle market companies; returns come from interest income and principal repayments over the life of each transaction.
2. Minority equity returns: Equity-style returns from minority equity investments made alongside debt in portfolio companies; returns realized through capital appreciation and exit events (M&A, recapitalizations, buyouts).
3. SBIC fund management (implied): As the first SBIC fund in Alabama, the firm operates under the U.S. Small Business Administration's SBIC program, which typically combines fund management fees with debt/equity investment returns; specific fee structure not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Core offering

Hoist Capital Partners is a Birmingham, Alabama-based private investment firm that operates the first SBIC-licensed fund in Alabama, deploying flexible structured debt and minority equity capital of $5MM-$15MM per transaction into lower middle market businesses with $7MM-$125MM in revenue and $2.5MM+ EBITDA. The fund supports mergers and consolidations, management buyouts, sponsor and independent sponsor deals, expansion capital, and debt restructuring and recapitalizations across consumer services, manufacturing and industrial, professional services, transportation and logistics, healthcare, and restaurants.

Product overview

Hoist Capital Partners operates a single unified investment offering rather than a software platform with modular products. Its core offering is the firm's SBIC fund — the first of its kind in Alabama — through which it deploys flexible structured debt and equity capital into lower middle market businesses. The fund is delivered through two complementary dimensions: transaction types (including Mergers & Consolidations, Committed Sponsor and Independent Sponsor Deals, Management Buyouts, Expansion Capital, and Debt Restructuring & Recaps) and investment structures (Senior Debt and Unitranche Structures, Subordinated Debt, and Minority Equity Investments Alongside Debt, typically in the $5MM–$15MM range). Together, these transaction types and investment structures form the modular building blocks of the firm's offering, applied across target industries such as Consumer Services, Manufacturing & Industrial, Professional Services, Transportation & Logistics, Healthcare, and Restaurants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hoist Capital Partners SBIC Fund The firm's flagship offering: the first SBIC-licensed fund in Alabama, providing flexible debt and equity capital of $5MM-$15MM per transaction to lower middle market businesses ($7MM-$125MM revenue, $2.5MM+ EBITDA) in Alabama, the Southeast, and beyond.
• Management Buyouts Financing provided to incumbent management teams to acquire ownership of the businesses they operate, deployed through the SBIC fund in the $5MM-$15MM range.
• Mergers & Consolidations Capital supporting M&A and consolidation transactions within the lower middle market investment focus.
• Expansion Capital Capital provided to proven businesses to fund growth initiatives, geographic expansion, or operational scaling.
• Debt Restructuring & Recapitalizations Capital solutions to restructure existing debt or recapitalize balance sheets for lower middle market companies.
• Sponsor and Independent Sponsor Deal Financing Capital deployment supporting both committed and independent sponsor-backed transactions in the lower middle market, often alongside private equity sponsors.
• Senior Debt and Unitranche Financing First-lien senior debt and unitranche financing structures offered to portfolio companies, typically in the $5MM-$15MM investment range.
• Subordinated Debt Financing Junior debt capital provided to support transactions, often paired with equity to round out the capital stack.
• Minority Equity Co-Investments Equity co-investments structured alongside debt facilities to provide growth capital and alignment with management.

Quantifiable outcome

• $2B+ in Middle Market transactions originated by Brian Heslop's prior Cadence Bank teams
• +2 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UABminorOthersFounding Partners Caldwell Marks and Gaines Livingston both serve on the Advisory Board of the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB (Gaines for 12+ years). This is a community/advisory relationship rather than a commercial partnership.
• Greater Alabama Council, Boy Scouts of AmericaminorOthersFounding Partner Caldwell Marks serves on the Executive Board of the Greater Alabama Council, Boy Scouts of America. This is a community/board relationship, not a commercial partnership.
• SAFE (family alliance center in Alabama)minorOthersFounding Partner Gaines Livingston serves as a board member of SAFE, a family alliance center in Alabama that provides support services and workforce development opportunities for families and companies in LMI (low- and moderate-income) communities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Capital Point Partners: SBIC-licensed fund providing mezzanine debt and minority equity to lower middle market companies. Direct comparable in SBIC structure, ticket size, and lower middle market focus.
• SLR Capital Solutions (formerly Crystal Financial): SBIC-licensed senior-secured term loan provider to lower middle market companies owned by private equity sponsors. Direct comparable in SBIC structure, sponsor-backed deal focus, and senior debt/unitranche product offering.
• Main Street Capital: Publicly-traded BDC and SBIC-licensed fund that primarily provides first-lien debt, equity, and growth capital to lower middle market companies. Direct comparable in SBIC leverage, target market profile, and flexible debt-plus-equity ticket sizing.
• Advantage Capital: SBIC-licensed investment manager focused on lower middle market and small business investing across multiple states, including the Southeast. Direct comparable in SBIC structure, lower middle market mandate, and flexible capital solutions.
• LBC Credit Partners: SBIC-licensed fund providing first-lien, unitranche, and mezzanine debt to lower middle market companies. Comparable in SBIC leverage, structured debt focus, and middle-market target companies.
• Comvest Partners: Middle-market private investment firm providing senior debt, unitranche, and equity capital to lower middle market companies. Comparable in flexible debt-and-equity mandate, sponsor-backed deal flow, and lower middle market focus.

Broad incumbents

• Audax Group: Large lower middle market private equity firm with flexible debt and equity strategies. Comparable in lower middle market focus, sponsor-backed deal flow, and the practice of buying and building companies in the same size range Hoist targets, though materially larger and more diversified.
• Regions Capital (Regions Bank investment banking arm): Investment banking and capital markets arm of Regions Bank, where two of Hoist's three founders previously worked. Overlap with Hoist in Southeast Middle Market relationships and lower middle market client base, though much broader in scope and product set.

Regional players

• Harbert Management Corporation: Birmingham, Alabama-based alternative investment firm managing private equity, real estate, and credit strategies. Comparable as a fellow Birmingham-headquartered investment platform with overlapping Southeast deal flow, local LP relationships, and lower-middle-market exposure, though materially more established and diversified than Hoist.
• NewSpring Capital: Lower middle market private equity firm with offices across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Comparable as a regional lower-middle-market PE platform with sponsor and independent-sponsor deal flow and a similar company-size target range.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hoist-capital-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Hoist Capital Partners