Backed by the Carling family office and run by experienced dealmakers, the new finance house specialises in initial-consideration and acquisition finance.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. September 10th, 2026 — BlackRidge Capital, a new acquisition-finance business, has launched to fund the initial consideration: the first and often hardest cheque a buyer must write to acquire a business.
BlackRidge has been launched by The Carling Group, a private family office chaired by Graeme Carling, which buys, builds and sells businesses internationally from its base in Dubai. Its principals bring decades of hands-on M&A experience, including transactions such as the 2025 sale of Saltire Facilities Management to Daikin Industries, the world’s largest air-conditioning manufacturer.
What sets BlackRidge apart from a traditional lender is that it is run by dealmakers. Its principals have spent decades completing acquisitions of their own and understand a transaction from the inside; how it is structured, where it stalls, and what it takes to reach completion. BlackRidge brings that judgement to the buyers it backs, assessing a deal on its commercial merits rather than against a lending checklist.
The business focuses on the initial consideration, the first payment in an acquisition, and the most common point at which a promising deal stalls. A buyer who can commit capital of their own is more credible, more likely to be chosen by a seller, and more likely to complete. By funding that first payment, BlackRidge gives capable buyers the standing to compete for deals that would otherwise pass them by.
Graeme Carling, Chairman of The Carling Group, said: “Every day, capable people find a business worth buying and fall at the first hurdle: the money it takes to get the deal moving. We’re not a bank working from a checklist, we’re dealmakers. We’ve spent decades buying, building and selling businesses of our own, so we understand what a good deal looks like and what it takes to complete one. BlackRidge is us putting real capital behind serious people, so they can walk into the room with something in their hand.”
BlackRidge is inviting enquiries from buyers who have identified a business to acquire and need finance for the initial consideration. Further information is available at blackridge-capital.co.uk.
ENDS