London Business School: Where European Search Funds Began
14 min read
In 1992, a London Business School graduate named Simon Webster did something no one outside the United States had done before. Inspired by the search fund model that H. Irving Grousbeck had pioneered at Stanford GSB eight years earlier, Webster raised capital from investors, searched for a privately held British company to acquire, and bought RSL, a services business with around 50 employees and approximately GBP 3.5 million in revenue. Over the following years, he grew RSL to 450 employees and GBP 30 million in revenue.
That acquisition was the first search fund transaction ever completed outside the United States. It demonstrated that the model could work beyond Silicon Valley and the American MBA ecosystem, and it opened the door for the European search fund movement that followed. Three decades later, Webster's fingerprints remain visible across the entire European ETA landscape. He has invested in over 60 search funds, chairs the IESE Search Fund Advisory Board, and teaches the ETA elective at the school where it all began.
For anyone considering getting started in ETA with an eye toward the UK or European markets, London Business School offers something no other institution can claim: the origin story of international search funds, taught by the person who wrote it.
Why LBS matters for ETA
London Business School's significance in entrepreneurship through acquisition rests on three pillars: historical precedent, institutional commitment, and geographic advantage.
The historical precedent is straightforward. Webster's 1992 acquisition of RSL proved that the search fund model, born in the American business school tradition, could translate to a different legal system, a different financing environment, and a different culture of business ownership. Before RSL, search funds were an exclusively American phenomenon. After RSL, they became a globally replicable strategy.
The institutional commitment is visible through LBS's Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital, which houses the ETA elective and supports research into entrepreneurial acquisition. The school has published dedicated case studies, hosts an annual ETA conference, and maintains a formal ETA section on its website. These are not peripheral activities. They reflect a decision by the school's leadership to build on its historical connection to the model.
The geographic advantage is London itself. As one of the world's deepest capital markets and a hub for cross-border deal-making, London provides a natural base for searchers targeting the UK market or broader European ETA opportunities. The city's professional services infrastructure, its concentration of private equity and family office capital, and its time-zone position bridging the Americas and Asia make it an appealing launchpad for internationally minded searchers.
The Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital
The Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital serves as the organizational home for ETA activity at LBS. Led academically by Associate Professor Luisa Alemany, the Institute coordinates coursework, case study development, events, and community-building around entrepreneurial acquisition and related disciplines.
Unlike standalone ETA centers at some other business schools, the Institute at LBS positions search funds within the broader context of private capital. This framing reflects a practical reality: most search fund investors come from private equity, family office, or angel investing backgrounds. By situating ETA alongside these disciplines, the Institute helps students understand where search funds fit in the capital structure and how to position themselves when finding investors for their own funds.
The Institute also serves as the publishing arm for LBS's ETA case studies, ensuring that the school's practical knowledge is codified and available for classroom use. This combination of research, teaching, and community makes the Institute the institutional backbone of LBS's ETA offering.
Faculty
LBS's ETA teaching draws on two faculty members whose backgrounds span the practitioner and academic sides of entrepreneurial acquisition.
Simon Webster
Webster serves as a Guest Lecturer and teaches the ETA elective at LBS. His credentials in the field are unmatched in Europe. After raising the first non-US search fund in 1992, he acquired RSL and built it from a GBP 3.5 million revenue business with 50 employees into a GBP 30 million revenue operation with 450 employees. Since then, he has invested in over 60 search funds and chairs the IESE Search Fund Advisory Board, connecting the LBS ecosystem to the leading international search fund research center.
Webster's teaching is rooted in three decades of direct experience as both an operator and an investor. Students who take the ETA elective benefit from his perspective on what makes a search fund succeed in European markets, where deal structures, regulatory environments, and seller expectations differ meaningfully from the American context.
Luisa Alemany
Alemany is an Associate Professor of Management Practice and serves as Academic Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital. She holds a Stanford MBA and a PhD, and her research spans venture capital, private equity, and entrepreneurial finance. At LBS, she co-authored the Nova Ventures case study, one of the school's two published ETA cases, and provides the academic architecture that supports the broader ETA program.
While Webster brings the practitioner voice, Alemany brings methodological rigor and institutional continuity. Her role ensures that ETA at LBS is not solely dependent on a single guest lecturer but is embedded in the school's permanent faculty structure and research agenda.
Course offerings and the ETA elective
LBS offers a dedicated ETA elective available to students across three of its degree programs: the MBA, the Executive MBA, and the Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy. This cross-program availability is distinctive. It means that the ETA elective attracts not only early-career MBA students but also experienced executives who may be considering acquisition as a next career step.
| Course | Programs | Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| ETA Elective | MBA, EMBA, Sloan | Simon Webster |
The elective covers the full search fund lifecycle: fundraising, search strategy, deal evaluation, negotiation, acquisition execution, and post-acquisition management. Webster teaches from his own experience and from the broader body of European and international search fund practice. The course draws on LBS's published case studies and benefits from guest contributions by active searchers and investors in the European ecosystem.
For students weighing how MBA programs prepare students for ETA, the LBS elective stands out for its European orientation and its accessibility across multiple degree formats. A Sloan participant with 20 years of operating experience sits alongside a first-year MBA student, creating a classroom dynamic that mirrors the diversity of backgrounds found in real search fund partnerships.
Published case studies
LBS has published two ETA case studies through its case publishing platform, both released in 2023. These cases provide UK-specific teaching material that complements the predominantly American case libraries at Stanford and Harvard.
Nova Ventures: Searching for Gems in the UK
Authored by Luisa Alemany and Ferenc Vasvari (CS-23-003, 10 pages), this case examines a search fund operating in the UK market. It addresses the specific challenges of sourcing deals in a market where business brokerage infrastructure is less developed than in the United States and where seller expectations around valuation and deal structure can differ significantly.
Insearch Ltd: Searching for a Company to Buy
Written by Simon Webster (CS-22-019, 16 pages), this case follows a search fund through the process of identifying, evaluating, and pursuing acquisition targets. Drawing on Webster's own experience and his extensive network in the UK search fund community, the case provides practical insight into the day-to-day reality of running a search in the British market.
Together, these two cases give LBS students access to UK-specific ETA teaching material that is difficult to find elsewhere. For a broader perspective on how academic research is shaping the field, see our overview of European search fund research.
The Annual ETA Conference
LBS co-organizes an annual ETA Conference alongside IESE, HEC Paris, and Cambridge. The 6th Annual ETA Conference was held on March 28, 2025, bringing together searchers, investors, faculty, and operators from across Europe.
The conference serves multiple functions. For students, it provides exposure to the broader European ETA community and the opportunity to meet potential investors and mentors. For faculty, it facilitates the exchange of teaching materials and research across institutions. For investors, it offers deal flow and visibility into the pipeline of emerging searchers.
The fact that this conference is co-organized by four leading European business schools reflects the collaborative nature of the European ETA ecosystem. Unlike the US market, where individual schools tend to host their own events, the European model emphasizes cross-institutional cooperation. This makes sense given the smaller scale of each national market and the cross-border nature of many European search fund strategies.
Webster's legacy and impact
Simon Webster's influence on European ETA extends well beyond London Business School. His 1992 acquisition of RSL was not just the first non-US search fund transaction. It was the proof of concept that enabled everything that followed in European entrepreneurial acquisition.
Consider the chain of influence. Webster proved the model worked in the UK. European business schools, observing that success, began incorporating ETA into their curricula. IESE established its International Search Fund Center in 2011. Today, that center tracks over 320 international search funds. Webster himself chairs the IESE Search Fund Advisory Board, directly connecting the institution that first proved the model internationally with the institution that now leads international search fund research.
His portfolio of over 60 search fund investments means that Webster's practical experience as an investor now rivals his pioneering work as an operator. Students at LBS benefit from both dimensions: the operator who built RSL and the investor who has evaluated hundreds of prospective search fund entrepreneurs and their target companies.
For a broader view of how the European search fund ecosystem has evolved since Webster's first fund, see our guide to ETA in Europe.
Tuition and financial considerations
London Business School MBA tuition is GBP 123,950 total for the 2026 intake. The program runs 15 to 21 months, giving students flexibility in pacing. Including living expenses in London, which are among the highest of any major MBA destination, the total investment typically exceeds GBP 150,000.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition (total) | GBP 123,950 |
| Program length | 15-21 months |
| Intake | 2026 |
The financial equation for a prospective searcher at LBS involves weighing this upfront cost against the expected returns of a search fund career and the alternative opportunities available to LBS graduates in consulting, finance, and private equity. London's position as a global financial center means that the opportunity cost of pursuing a search fund, rather than a high-paying finance role, is significant.
However, LBS graduates who choose the search fund path benefit from access to a deep pool of UK and European investors, a curriculum taught by the pioneer of the model in Europe, and a brand that carries weight with business owners considering a sale. For a framework on evaluating whether an MBA justifies the investment for a search fund career, see our analysis of the best MBA programs for search fund careers.
Who should choose LBS
London Business School is the strongest fit for candidates who plan to search in the UK or use London as a base for cross-border European acquisitions. The school's ETA offering is not as broad as Stanford's or IESE's in terms of course count, but it compensates with the depth of Webster's involvement and the unique advantage of being taught by the person who originated the model outside the United States.
LBS is also well-suited for candidates from the EMBA or Sloan programs who are exploring ETA as a mid-career transition. The availability of the ETA elective across multiple degree formats means that experienced professionals can access the curriculum without committing to a full-time two-year MBA.
Candidates who want a larger ETA ecosystem with more dedicated courses, a formal search fund center, and a deeper alumni network of searchers should also consider IESE or INSEAD. For candidates focused on the US market, the Tier 1 programs at Stanford, Harvard, and IESE remain the primary options. But for anyone drawn to the UK market, the history of European search funds, and the opportunity to learn from the person who started it all, LBS stands alone.