Minus One Industrial acquires and operates Fire safety and compliance businesses across Australia for the long term. We protect the people, customers, reputation, and standards that founders have built while supporting steady operational growth.
HOW WE THINK ABOUT OWNERSHIP
For founders considering succession, Minus One Industrial offers a long-term ownership approach focused on continuity, disciplined operations, and preserving the lasting value you have built.
We work with owner-operators who want more than a transaction. Minus One Industrial carries forward the operating knowledge, customer commitments, team capability, and reputation that made the business worth acquiring.
OUR MISSION
OUR MISSION
WHAT WORKING WITH US INVOLVES
01
Conversations between us stay private. Financial and operational information is handled under the Essential 8 framework, the Australian Cyber Security Centre's standard for protecting business data.
02
In a service business, the team is the business. Our intention is to protect the people you spent years hiring and training. Pay, conditions, and roles are respected, and the culture you shaped is something we actively work to preserve.
03
Some founders walk away after six months. Others stay involved for four or five years and wind down their day to day gradually. We work to whatever pace lets you hand over with confidence.
04
No disruption to your business while we work. The process runs quietly in the background. Your customers, suppliers and staff go about their day while we do our work. Nothing changes until you decide it does.
A mechanical engineering graduate and Sydney-based founder and operator who has led 50+ staff in safety-critical operations, and most recently served as Acting General Manager of the Australian business within a global renewable energy company.
A Commerce and Law student at the University of Sydney with a background in M&A strategy, deal sourcing, AI software, consulting, and valuation.
A Commerce student and Dalyell Scholar at the University of Sydney, passionate about understanding businesses and the people who drive their long-term success.
An extension of our knowledge
Chair, Advisory Board
Peter is an experienced advisor and company director with more than 30 years of leadership experience across energy, infrastructure and investment—having held senior executive roles at Worley Consulting, Origin Energy and PNG Energy Developments. A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, he brings sound judgement and deep experience in acquisitions, capital allocation and complex strategic decisions across Australia and internationally.
Advisory Board Member
With over 35 years of fire safety experience, Russ founded Firewize in 2001—a fire protection consultancy that actively challenges industry paradigms across commercial, government and healthcare sectors. A former President and current Board Member of the Fire Protection Association Australia, he is a prominent industry thought leader pioneering new technology in fire safety and smoke detector contamination tracking.
Advisory Board Member
A pure entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience in the electrical, building services and property industries, Nick purchased an electrical contracting business early in his career, grew it into a nationwide operation and sold it to a US Fortune 500 company—before purchasing back the design consulting business he continues to lead as Managing Director today. A Member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) New Zealand and 23-year member of the Young Presidents' Organisation (YPO), he brings deep expertise in business building, acquisitions and mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
HOW A HANDOVER WORKS
Every business is different and the timeline can stretch from a few months to a few years. The shape of how we work usually looks like this.
STEP
01
We meet under an NDA. You tell us about the business and where you are at. There is no decision to make. Many of the founders we talk with are years away from a sale, and that is fine.
STEP
02
If there is interest on both sides, we work quietly with you and a small group of your trusted advisors. Staff are not involved unless and until you choose.
STEP
03
We make offers we can complete. We have strong investor and lender relationships and don't put a number in front of you unless we're serious about closing.
STEP
04
Six months. Two years. Five years. The handover runs to a timeline you set, with you as involved or as hands off as you would like to be.
HOW A HANDOVER WORKS
Every business is different and the timeline can stretch from a few months to a few years. The shape of how we work usually looks like this.
STEP
01
We meet under an NDA. You tell us about the business and where you are at. There is no decision to make. Many of the founders we talk with are years away from a sale, and that is fine.
STEP
02
If there is interest on both sides, we work quietly with you and a small group of your trusted advisors. Staff are not involved unless and until you choose.
STEP
03
We make offers we can complete. We have strong investor and lender relationships and don't put a number in front of you unless we're serious about closing.
STEP
04
Six months. Two years. Five years. The handover runs to a timeline you set, with you as involved or as hands off as you would like to be.
Routine inspection keeps thousands of buildings compliant every year. The small businesses doing this work are the backbone of an industry few people see.
Founder & Operator
Based in Sydney · Operating across AU
If you are reading this page, you have probably spent more years than you can count building a business that keeps people safe. You know your customers' first names. You know which of your staff is having a hard year. You can probably recite your books from memory.
I started Minus One Industrial because I think the way most companies get bought and sold underestimates how much that handover matters. When the goal is to flip a business in five years, the new owner has every incentive to cut staff, raise prices, and squeeze the operation for short term return. None of that is what built the business in the first place.
We are trying to do the opposite. We buy companies with the intention of operating them for the long term, which means we need them to keep working the way they always have, run by the people who already know how. Your team. Your culture. Your customer relationships. We want to inherit them.
If that resonates, even years before you would think about a sale, I would love to meet.
Michael Masters, Founder
AFTER YOU SELL
OPTION 1
Some founders stay connected after the sale — available for the occasional conversation, introduction, or industry insight. We get the benefit of your judgement; you stay connected to the business you built.
OPTION 2
Spend time with other owner operators who have gone through the same handover. Informal, useful, and built around shared experience rather than a structured agenda.
GET IN TOUCH
ALL CORRESPONDENCE WILL BE TREATED IN STRICT CONFIDENCE
There is no need to be ready for a sale today. A first conversation is a quiet way to talk through your business, where you are at, and what a good handover could look like when the time is right.
