About KitsWest Capital
An independent corporate finance and business valuation advisory firm serving owner-managed businesses across British Columbia and Alberta.
KitsWest Capital advises founders, shareholders, and management teams on mergers and acquisitions, business financing, and valuation matters. Our work is grounded in disciplined financial analysis, practical commercial judgment, and direct senior involvement from engagement start to finish.
The firm was founded to bring institutional-quality advisory to the small to mid-market private companies that form the backbone of the BC and Alberta economies. We serve businesses across the Lower Mainland, the Okanagan, Calgary, Edmonton, and throughout western Canada.
Our firm
KitsWest Capital is an independent corporate finance and business valuation advisory firm headquartered in downtown Vancouver at 595 Howe Street, in the heart of the city’s financial district. We hold no affiliations with lenders, capital providers, or other advisory networks, meaning our advice is free from the conflicts that arise when an advisor also lends, invests, manages assets, or earns referral income.
We advise privately held businesses on three interconnected service lines: sell-side and buy-side mergers and acquisitions advisory, debt and capital advisory including acquisition financing and recapitalizations, and business valuations for transactions, tax planning, litigation, and shareholder matters. These three disciplines reinforce one another. Valuation rigour informs how we structure transactions. Transaction experience sharpens how we approach lenders. Capital markets awareness shapes how we advise on timing and process.
Our clients are typically founder-led businesses navigating decisions involving ownership succession, growth capital, liquidity, or strategic alternatives. We also work alongside accountants, legal counsel, and other professional advisors supporting a client matter where independent corporate finance expertise adds value.
Our approach
How we work and what guides our advice on every engagement.
01 / Independence
We hold no affiliations with lenders, capital providers, or advisory networks. We don’t earn referral fees, lend, or invest. That structural independence keeps our advice aligned with what’s right for the client rather than what’s most profitable for an intermediary.
02 / Method
Every engagement begins with disciplined financial analysis. We start from the financial statements, the operating drivers, and the realistic transaction or capital alternatives. Recommendations rest on reasoned valuation work, capital market awareness, and clear documentation rather than rules of thumb.
03 / Sector experience
Owner-managed businesses across BC and Alberta span industries with distinct buyer pools, lender preferences, and valuation multiples. We bring sector-specific experience across manufacturing, construction, resources, real estate, transportation, distribution, food and beverage, technology, and professional services so the work reflects how each industry actually trades and finances.
04 / Owner alignment
Founders, shareholders, and management teams are the centre of every engagement. We do the work directly rather than delegating to junior team members once a mandate is awarded. Senior judgment, single point of contact, and accountability remain consistent from first conversation through close.
Mike Busch, CPA, CBV · Founder & Managing Partner
Mike Busch is the founder and managing partner of KitsWest Capital. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designated through the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) and a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) designated through the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CICBV).
Prior to founding KitsWest Capital, Mike held advisory roles at Big Four accounting firms and mid-market investment banks, advising businesses across Canada and the United States on transactions spanning business sales and acquisitions, capital raises, refinancings, restructurings, and special situations. That institutional background informs how KitsWest structures engagements, prepares materials, and manages processes for privately held businesses in the small to mid-market.
He works directly with clients through the full course of each mandate rather than delegating key work once an engagement begins. That direct senior involvement ensures continuity of judgment, relationship, and accountability from first meeting through transaction close.
Selected transactions
Selected transactions our principals have advised on across their corporate finance careers. Comprehensive listing can be found on our transactions page.
Credentials and professional standards
CPA designation
The Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation is issued by provincial CPA bodies across Canada. Mike holds his CPA through CPABC (Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia).
CBV designation
The Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) designation is issued exclusively by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CICBV). It is Canada’s recognized credential for business valuation professionals. CBV holders are bound by the CBV Institute Practice Standards, which govern methodology, independence, and reporting obligations for valuation engagements.
Both the CPA and CBV designations require ongoing adherence to professional standards covering independence, conflict checks, methodology, and reporting. The CBV Institute Practice Standards govern how valuation work is scoped, conducted, and documented, including restrictions on contingent fees that could compromise objectivity. KitsWest Capital operates to these standards regardless of engagement type so clients can rely on consistent professional conduct across valuation, financing, and M&A work.
Geographic and industry focus
KitsWest Capital is headquartered in Vancouver and works with privately held companies throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Engagements span the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan and southern interior, Calgary, Edmonton, and throughout western Canada. Where appropriate we work with clients elsewhere in Canada and the United States, particularly on cross-border M&A and capital matters.
Our work cuts across the seven industry sectors most active in the BC and Alberta small to mid-market: manufacturing and construction, resources and energy, real estate and transportation, distribution and trade, food and beverage, technology, and professional and business services. Each sector has its own buyer universe, lender appetite, capital structure norms, and valuation multiples, and our advice reflects how each one actually trades. For a sector-specific overview, see our industries page.
Integrated with our advisory services
The firm’s three service lines work together. A sell-side process often involves valuation work to set price expectations and lender outreach to support stapled financing or restructuring options. A buy-side mandate may need acquisition financing arranged in parallel. A standalone valuation often surfaces strategic questions a client wants to think through before deciding whether to transact.
We hold mandates across all three areas because the disciplines reinforce one another, and because clients are often best served by an advisor who can see how a valuation, financing, or M&A decision affects the others. Learn more about business brokerage services, debt and capital advisory, and business valuations.
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.
Our associations
Our principals are members of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CICBV). KitsWest Capital is a member of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
