Boulevard Research
Advisory Approach
Boulevard is a boutique investment banking and private investment firm specializing in the lower middle market, with deep expertise serving business owners, operators, and private investors. The firm operates with a thesis centered on the belief that value creation begins with developing strong multi-faceted strategy addressing all stakeholders—employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, and community—before executing transactions. This approach has guided Boulevard through a diverse portfolio of advisory engagements and principal investments since its founding in December 2015.
The firm's managing partners, Marco Eadie and Mac Gerlach, each bring extensive experience as entrepreneurs, operators, investors, and deal professionals, which enables them to rapidly understand client goals and develop effective strategic plans coupled with efficient transactional execution. Boulevard positions itself as a trusted advisor to middle market businesses seeking both guidance and capital partnership.
Service Lines
Boulevard operates across three primary service lines:
Buy-Side Advisory: Boulevard leverages proprietary networks and research-driven databases to identify acquisition targets aligned with client strategic criteria—including industry, size, product offering, and geography. The firm directly approaches pre-screened target owners to initiate dialogue, frequently building active acquisition pipelines that maximize optionality. Boulevard's experience as investors enables them to develop deep relationships between clients and sellers, facilitating mutually beneficial transaction structures. The firm also provides debt and equity structuring capabilities when needed to fund acquisitions.
Sell-Side Advisory: Boulevard's sell-side practice begins with research-driven buyer identification against criteria that prioritize valuation, geography, preferred capital structure, and post-closing management roles. The firm focuses on identifying the right buyer early to minimize time-to-closing. Leveraging operator and investor expertise, Boulevard identifies and highlights specific business attributes that appeal to target acquirers, developing tailored marketing materials for each buyer audience. Boulevard specializes in creating competitive dynamics among potential acquirers, which frequently results in higher valuations and achievement of other client objectives identified during initial strategy discussions.
Financing & Recapitalization: Boulevard is notably positioned among middle market investment banks for its capability in obtaining and structuring debt and equity financing. This capability stems from Boulevard's own private investment activities—as investors managing portfolio companies, the firm's team is familiar with hundreds of specialty lenders and has developed a proprietary database enabling rapid identification of appropriate lenders based on investment parameters, financial terms, loan size, and geography. Most of Boulevard's lending relationships are specialty lenders willing to lend against company cash flow without requiring personal guarantees or hard asset backing, providing flexibility valued by owners and management teams.
Sector Focus & Deal Track Record
Boulevard serves multiple industries across manufacturing, distribution, industrial services, healthcare, business services, retail, consumer services, real estate, and financial services. The firm has completed transactions including:
Guardian Alarm Sale to Certares LP & Vanwall Holdings LLC (March 2017) – Boulevard served as exclusive sell-side advisor on the sale of Guardian Alarm, a family-owned security systems provider based in Michigan, to New York-based investment firms Certares LP and Vanwall Holdings LLC. This transaction exemplifies Boulevard's capability in successfully positioning security and services businesses to sophisticated financial buyers.
BarFly Ventures/HopCat Financing and Restructuring (2020-2022) – Boulevard worked with BarFly Ventures, parent company of HopCat beer bar chain and related hospitality assets. Boulevard helped arrange $25 million debt investment from Congruent Investment Partners and Main Street Capital Corporation to support the business. When BarFly later faced bankruptcy, Boulevard's lenders (Congruent and Main Street) acquired the assets for $17.5 million in October 2020, enabling continuation of the business under new ownership.
Dynamic Rehabilitation Acquisition by Pure Healthy Back (August 2015) – Boulevard provided buy-side advisory to Pure Healthy Back on its acquisition of Dynamic Rehabilitation, a healthcare services provider. This transaction demonstrates Boulevard's experience in healthcare services consolidation.
Investment Criteria & Target Market
Boulevard manages principal capital and targets companies with:
- EBITDA: $500K-$10M
- Revenue: $3M-$70M
- Primary operations in U.S. or Canada
- Industries: Agnostic across all sectors
- Management structures: Open to continuing management scenarios or founder exit scenarios
- Investment horizon: 3-7 year holding periods, with flexibility to hold and build positions indefinitely
Buyer Network & Deal Execution
Boulevard's deal activity has exposed the firm to relationships with diverse buyer types including family offices (Vanwall Holdings), specialty investment firms focused on niche sectors (Certares in travel/hospitality and business services), and specialty lenders (Congruent, Main Street Capital, Gemino Healthcare Financing). The firm's participation in both debt structuring and equity transactions provides deep market knowledge across both lender and buyer perspectives.
Team & Operations
Boulevard operates with approximately 4 team members based in Royal Oak, Michigan. The firm's structure emphasizes hands-on involvement from managing partners in all major transactions, ensuring consistency and quality in client service.
Not a Fit If
Boulevard typically focuses on lower-to-core middle market businesses ($3M-$70M revenue). Very large transactions, businesses requiring highly specialized expertise outside the team's domain, or situations lacking experienced management teams or clear value creation opportunities may not align with Boulevard's focus.
Competitive Positioning
Boulevard differentiates from other lower middle market advisors through:
- Investor perspective – Managing partners' private investment activities provide deep lender and buyer network relationships
- Operator mentality – Team understands operational challenges and value creation levers from experience running portfolio companies
- Full-service capability – Rare among lower middle market banks to offer integrated buy-side, sell-side, and financing services
- Research-driven approach – Proprietary databases and networks enable targeted buyer/seller identification rather than broad solicitation
- Flexible terms – Direct lender relationships allow creative structuring around personal guarantees and collateral requirements