Two long-time agribusiness professionals turned business growth specialists, Jack Gleeson and Mark Lim, together with veteran funds executive Anthony Hogarth, have announced the launch of Magnetic Alliance Capital, a new investment fund designed to acquire and grow undervalued mid-sized Australian businesses across essential sectors of the economy.
Mr Gleeson and Mr Lim bring more than two decades of hands-on operational and transformation experience, while Mr Hogarth adds deep institutional investment expertise, having spent over 25 years in funds management, including running agricultural investment funds at Macquarie Bank, one of Australia’s most respected global financial institutions.
The fund, known as the Magnetic Alliance Profit Growth Fund, marks the next evolution for the pair who first began working together in the livestock industry in 2005 and went on to co-found Magnetic Alliance in 2011, a business advisory and services company that has since expanded its reach far beyond agribusiness.
Over the past 14 years, Magnetic Alliance has become known for helping companies increase revenues, margins, and profits across multiple industries. The firm has worked with both large agribusiness operations and smaller enterprises seeking to scale to mid-sized status. In doing so, the company has directly contributed to more than $2.1 billion in added client revenue and has achieved year-on-year growth for 13 of its 14 years in operation.
During that time, the firm’s performance has been recognised with 23 awards for excellence from major organisations including Ernst & Young, American Express, Financial Times, and Optus.
Building on that track record, Mr Gleeson, Mr Lim and Mr Hogarth have now turned their focus to acquiring and improving established, mid-sized Australian businesses. The new investment fund targets overlooked, undervalued and underperforming companies, particularly those operating with earnings before interest and tax margins of 5% or less, and aims to lift profitability to 10% EBIT or higher through hands-on operational transformation.
Unlike many modern funds pursuing high-risk, technology-driven disruptors, Magnetic Alliance Capital is positioning itself as a real-economy fund, focused on solid, essential industries such as agribusiness, food, construction, trade, health, and waste management.
“The idea isn’t to chase unicorns,” said co-founder Mark Lim. “We’re looking for good, established businesses in essential sectors that keep Australia running, businesses that are already doing something people understand. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel; we’re just making it spin faster and more efficiently.”
The fund’s approach is intentionally simple and tangible. “For example,” Lim explained, “you could find a mid-sized plumbing, agri-services or construction company, double its EBIT, scale it into the next valuation multiple bracket, and that alone can create strong, compounding returns for investors.”
What gives the founders high confidence in their ability to deliver, they say, comes down to the trinity of expertise they’ve built into their leadership team:
- Operational capability – decades of experience running small, medium, and large businesses firsthand.
- Transformation capability – built on a management consulting backbone with 85 commercially driven services honed through Magnetic Alliance’s work improving client businesses nationwide that improve revenue, margin and profit.
- Financial/Funds expertise – led by Anthony Hogarth, a former Macquarie Bank investment banker and fund manager who spent years leading and managing agricultural investment funds, overseeing capital deployment into primary production, agribusiness assets, and rural enterprises, and who brings more than 25 years of institutional funds management experience.
“Most fund managers understand finance and fund structures but haven’t operated a business at the coalface,” said Mr Hogarth.
“Jack and Mark have done both. I’ve seen what they’ve built and what they’re capable of, and what’s exciting is they know exactly how to make real operational improvements that directly increase value. In the funds world, usually the hard part is extracting value from acquisitions, but once we raise capital, I think that’s going to be the easy part.”
Magnetic Alliance Capital will operate as a boutique fund, targeting high-net-worth individuals and family offices seeking exposure to solid, yield-generating assets outside the volatility of the stock market or real estate. The founders say they plan to remain selective with capital inflows to ensure funds are deployed into high-quality, scalable opportunities, rather than forced into substandard placements.
“We want to keep this fund focused, nimble, and performance-driven,” said Mr Gleeson. “Not financial engineering, just real improvements to real Australian businesses.”
The fund is currently in its capital-raising phase and intends to begin acquiring mid-sized businesses across essential sectors in early 2026.
With a combined background spanning agribusiness, strategy, operations, and investment, Mr Gleeson, Mr Lim, and Mr Hogarth are positioning Magnetic Alliance Capital as a pragmatic alternative for investors seeking long-term, tangible growth in Australia’s most reliable industries.
For more information: magneticalliancecapital.com