About KitsWest Capital
KitsWest Capital is an independent advisory firm based in downtown Vancouver, serving owner-managed and privately held businesses across Canada and the United States.
We advise on mergers and acquisitions, business financing matters, and business valuation mandates for founders, shareholders, and management teams facing important strategic and financial decisions. Our work is grounded in disciplined financial analysis, practical commercial judgment, and senior-led execution.
KitsWest was built to provide thoughtful, high-quality advisory to businesses that value clear advice, direct access to senior professionals, and a process tailored to the realities of owner-managed and privately held companies.
Independent, Partner-Led Advisory
We believe clients are best served by direct senior involvement, clear communication, and advice that is both rigorous and practical.
Every engagement is led closely by experienced professionals. We work directly with clients through the full course of a mandate rather than passing off key work once an engagement begins. That allows us to remain closely aligned with the objectives, timing, and dynamics of each situation.
Our role is not simply to complete a process. It is to help clients think clearly, prepare properly, and execute with confidence when the outcome matters.
Leadership
Mike Busch is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) with nearly a decade of experience across investment banking, corporate finance, valuations, and restructuring. Prior to founding KitsWest Capital, he held advisory roles at Big Four accounting firms and mid-market investment banks, advising businesses across Canada and the United States on transactions ranging from business sales and acquisitions to capital raises, refinancings, and special situations.
Mike's work spans sell-side and buy-side M&A execution, capital structuring and lender negotiations, complex valuations for transactions, shareholder matters and tax reorganizations, and restructuring mandates including distressed situations and DIP financing. He has advised clients across industries including industrials, manufacturing, business services, agriculture, healthcare, and technology, with transactions spanning everyday businesses to large multinational firms.
KitsWest Capital was founded to bring the same quality of analysis and process discipline to mid-market and owner-managed businesses that larger institutional mandates typically receive — with direct senior involvement from start to finish on every engagement.
Representative Transactions
$70M sell-side M&A — waste management and technology company
$80M debt & capital raise — investment management firm
$64M debt & capital raise — farming & agriculture operation
$45M buy-side M&A and capital raise — US quick-service restaurant chain
$33M buy-side M&A and capital raise — gravel crushing and construction company
$20M sell-side M&A — private healthcare and education services college
$20M sell-side M&A — Sports goods distributor
$5M sell-side M&A — home construction company
$7M debt & capital — industrial manufacturing company
$6M sell-side M&A — brewery and distillery
$6M restructuring — debtor-in-possession financing and sale of coffee producer
Representative sample of transactions completed by KitsWest partners at KitsWest Capital and predecessor firms.
What We Do
M&A Advisory
We advise on business sales, acquisitions, ownership transitions, unsolicited offers, and broader strategic transaction matters for mid-market businesses.
Debt & Capital Advisory
Business Valuation
Across these service areas, our focus is consistent: clear advice, disciplined process, and practical execution.
Who We Work With
We primarily work with:
Owner-managed and privately held businesses
Founders and shareholders evaluating strategic alternatives
Management teams pursuing acquisitions, financings, or ownership transitions
Accountants, legal advisors, lenders, and other professionals supporting client matters
Select sponsor-backed businesses where the mandate fits our focus and process
Our clients are often navigating important decisions involving value, control, liquidity, financing, or long-term ownership.
Independent Advisory for Private Businesses
We work with small businesses, owner-managed companies, and privately held businesses that value thoughtful advice, financial rigor, and direct senior-level attention. That focus allows us to deliver disciplined advisory without the bureaucracy of larger institutions and without the transactional approach often associated with lower-touch intermediaries.
We aim to provide structured, independent advice that helps clients move through important decisions with greater clarity and confidence.
Our objective is straightforward: clear advice, disciplined process, and practical execution designed to protect value and support long-term outcomes.
Our Approach
Our approach is built around preparation, analysis, and execution discipline.
We begin by understanding the client’s objectives, the context of the decision, and the practical constraints surrounding the engagement. From there, we bring structure to the process, identify the key issues that matter most, and help the client move forward with clarity.
Direct Senior Involvement
Clients work directly with experienced advisors throughout the engagement.
Practical Financial Analysis
We combine disciplined analysis with commercial judgment relevant to real-world decisions.
Structured Process
We bring order and momentum to situations that are often complex, sensitive, or time-dependent.
Independent Advice
Our role is to provide objective advice aligned with client interests and long-term outcomes.
Based in Vancouver, Serving Clients Across Canada and the United States
KitsWest Capital is headquartered in downtown Vancouver at 595 Howe Street, in the heart of the city’s financial district.
While many of our engagements begin with a Vancouver connection, our clients, counterparties, lenders, and opportunities are often broader. We advise businesses across Canada and the United States where our experience, service offering, and mandate fit align.
We believe clients value both local accessibility and broader market perspective. Our goal is to provide both.
Working with Other Advisors
We regularly work alongside accountants, legal counsel, lenders, and other professional advisors involved in a client matter.
In many engagements, successful outcomes depend on coordination across multiple stakeholders. We are accustomed to working within broader advisory teams and helping bring clarity and momentum to situations where multiple parties are involved.
Why Clients Work With KitsWest Capital
Independent Perspective
We provide advice that is objective, commercially grounded, and aligned with client interests.
Senior-Led Execution
Experienced professionals remain directly involved throughout the engagement.
Clear Communication
We aim to explain complex issues clearly and keep clients informed throughout the process.
Thoughtful Process
We bring discipline, preparation, and structure to high-stakes decisions.
Our Insights
Discuss a Valuation, Financing, or M&A Matter
If you are evaluating a business sale, acquisition, refinancing initiative, recapitalization, financing process, unsolicited offer, or valuation assignment, we welcome a confidential discussion.
KitsWest Capital
595 Howe Street, Suite 306
Vancouver, BC V6C 2T5
Advising owner-managed and privately held businesses across Canada and the United States.