Northington Partners

Northington Partners

Founded in 1993 by Rob Challinor and Roy Austin, Northington Partners began as an Auckland-based investment bank focused on independent corporate advice. The firm merged with Crighton Anderson Corporate Finance in 2006, which catalyzed the transition to its current senior team and broadened its national footprint with a second office in Christchurch. Northington positions itself as a mid-market specialist, advising private and public companies, family-owned businesses, and government agencies on transactions typically ranging from $20 million to $200 million. The firm operates across three main verticals. Its core investment banking practice handles sell-side and buy-side M&A, capital raising, divestments, and public listings. The corporate finance arm provides valuation, modeling, and research-backed advisory to a cross-section of New Zealand industries — including construction, financial services, property, manufacturing, and technology. Distinct from many boutique advisors, Northington also runs a private equity business that originates and manages mid-market private company buy-outs, sourcing investment opportunities for family offices, HNW individuals, and other wholesale investors. The firm highlights its growing tech-sector focus, working with New Zealand-based companies that possess what the firm describes as world-leading technology and international expansion strategies. Northington maintains offices in Auckland and Christchurch. Its senior-led business model deploys experienced bankers directly on engagements, a structure it claims delivers service quality comparable to larger firms. The firm does not publicly disclose assets under management or total deployment figures. Trevor Burt, Chairman of Rua Bioscience, cited Northington's capital-raising work as providing a multi-year operational runway for the medicinal cannabis company, reflecting the firm's role in backing New Zealand mid-market enterprises. Northington's structural differentiator is its integration of corporate advisory and private equity investing under one roof — a configuration that is uncommon among independent New Zealand investment banks. By originating transactions for its advisory clients and selecting certain of those deals to back with its own managed private equity capital, the firm creates an informational and sourcing advantage. This hybrid posture allows it to act as both a trusted sell-side advisor to local founders and a disciplined capital allocator for the wholesale investors it serves.