Partnership puts business on a solid foundation

Good partnerships are a blessing in life, as the saying goes, and that applies doubly when it comes to business. Finding that other person who matches your ambitions, yet pushes the collective creativity to greater heights is a big bonus for fledgling enterprise.

The corollary, that some partnerships are a nightmare, brings a smile from Karl O’Connor and Sylvia Ridgeway, life partners and co-founders of The Nightmare Realm. A themed Halloween experience established in 2009, it has grown far beyond its origins in Kerry to accumulate a major fan following and was voted the Most Entertaining Horror Experience by the EU Travel Awards.

Launched in Tralee in 2009, The Nightmare Realm was an immediate hit with people looking for seasonal scares with much more bite than any other Halloween experience in the marketplace.

After becoming a regular part of the October fright scene in Cork, it eventually moved to Dublin in 2016, where it remains an annual part of the tourist and local entertainment scene. Visitors are invited to face their worst fears, with everything from demonic clowns to chainsaw-wielding maniacs, flesh eaters and rat-infested cells.

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“We like to create events that put people at the heart of the show, making them a part of something interactive and memorable,” O’Connor explains about how the secret scare sauce is concocted.

“Growing up in rural Ireland, I loved hearing the ghost stories that our elders would tell us. I remember hearing how Halloween started in Ireland – Oíche Shamhna – with tales of the banshee and the evil fairies who would play tricks on people. This was undoubtedly where my love for scaring people came from. In a way, these storytellers were Ireland’s first scare entertainers and I wanted to be one of them, just on a larger scale.”

Having established themselves at Dublin’s historic Fruit and Vegetable Market, O’Connor and Ridgeway worked hard at becoming Ireland’s first indoor scream park. The event quickly became a favourite for locals and has attracted a multitude of celebrities including, Machine Gun Kelly and fiancee Megan Fox, Brooklyn Beckham, Little Mix, Christian Convery, Jack Raynor and a host of sporting stars.

“Our goal is to continue to innovate and deliver unparalleled scares and immersive experiences for our visitors, solidifying our position as a leader in the scare attraction industry.”

An experience that lands customers inside an expanded Victorian-themed Halloween Town, it features haunt mazes ranging across Sundown Manor, The Shriekers, Death Row 2 and Dead Carnival.

In addition to its aforementioned EU Travel Awards gong, the attraction has recently achieved title of Europe’s Best Scream Park, been named the world’s number one Halloween event by Unilad, and won the Best Independent European Haunt title at the European Scare Awards.

The Nightmare Realm employs more than 100 performers, in addition to an array of behind-the-scenes personnel. O’Connor and Ridgeway envision the themes, set design and costumes entirely from start to finish in a project that takes 11 months of preparation, and is eventually put together within a three-week time frame.

Entertainment and interaction are key to its annual success. “We are always looking to better the show and take it to new heights in every sense of the word,” Ridgeway explains.

Moving from its previous location at the RDS to the City Market has significantly expanded the show. “We’re now a scream park, which is something we’ve always wanted to be able to offer to our fans,” she adds.

Awards such as No.1 Halloween Event in the world are an obvious boon to the business and help to lift its profile to a wider audience, says Ridgeway.

“Anyone can say they’re the best but when it’s awarded to you by the industry in which you work, that’s when it stands the most. Receiving awards are a wonderful surprise but they also come with pressure in keeping the expectations high for our visitors,” she adds.

O’Connor and Ridgeway work a year in advance, ensuring they are already in the logistics stage for the following year, even as the current show unfolds.

“It’s the best way to see how we can improve, listen to feedback and take on board what the customers want for the future,” says O’Connor. “We really are involved in every aspect – set, design, costumes, marketing, film shoots, construction, training our actors and managing a team of over 100 during the event. We are firm believers in the phrase ‘always a lesson, never a failure’. I have learned having mental strength has been the most important thing in staying top of the game.”

An alternative solution to the succession problem

Demographic shifts are reshaping the landscape for family businesses, with a growing number of owners nearing retirement without a clear successor.

In Germany alone, more than 31 per cent of SME owners are now over 60 years old, with similar trends occurring in Ireland. Recognising this challenge and striving to be part of the solution, Rob Forsyth launched Elevate Capital in early 2024.

His vision? To acquire a high-potential Irish SME and ensure a seamless transition for the retiring owner while laying a foundation for future growth.

“This approach is known as entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), whereby an individual backed by a small group of external investors acquires an established SME/family business. Following acquisition, the individual takes on the lead role of ‘owner operator’,” says Forsyth.

“The concept first originated at Stanford Business School in the 1980s and is now a commonplace solution to owner succession in both mainland Europe and the US, where it is taught as part of MBA programmes. Despite the popularity further afield, it is still in its infancy and relatively unknown in the UK and Ireland.”

Having grown up around the family business, a flooring-distribution SME, Forsyth learned at an early age – usually around the dinner table – about the opportunities and challenges inherent in running an owner-managed business but, ultimately, about the over-riding fulfilment that can be found in both creating employment and satisfying customer needs.

Having started his career as an accountant with KPMG, Forsyth has spent the past 15 years working in a variety of roles across strategy, finance and operations in large multinational organisations.

Understanding changing demographic trends and recognising a gap in the market, he saw a significant opportunity to marry this corporate experience with the right Irish SME through making a full/partial acquisition, which has in turn led to the inception of Elevate Capital.

“Not all family businesses have a son or daughter who wants to take over the family business or is indeed equipped for that role,” he says. “Naturally this can create complexities for business owners when it comes to succession planning.

“Where this challenge exists, the alternatives usually include a sale to a competitor, sale to private equity – where the business is of a significant size – and, in the worst-case scenario, closing the doors entirely.

“These options are not always preferable to the retiring owner, which is where ETA – and Elevate Capital – can play a unique role in offering a more favourable alternative to the seller.”

Beyond individual transactions, Forsyth believes in the broader societal impact of ETA.

“We know that FDI is a central pillar to the Irish economy but a thriving SME sector is crucial for Ireland’s future economic success,” he says. “By connecting seasoned talent with established businesses, ETA doesn’t just facilitate transactions – but instead fosters a stronger and more independent Irish economy.”

In addition to the macroeconomic benefit, the success of ETA is evident in its returns. Stanford Business School data suggests an average investor return rate of 35 per cent, outperforming public market returns by a significant margin.

elevatecapital.ie