Founder & Chairman
Proprietary family capital, a single voice that decides, and all the time in the world to get it right.
From the founder
I remember the first company I bought. I was twenty-three, wearing a suit that was too big for me, and absolutely certain I knew what I was doing. I didn't. What I did have was something I've since learned to value more than any financial model: the ability to sit across from someone who has devoted their life to a business and listen to what truly concerns them. Not the valuation. Not the multiples. What happens to their people when they are no longer there.
Sixteen years have passed since then. I've been involved in over two hundred transactions, managed restructurings that have kept me up at night, and brought families who hadn't spoken in months to the same table. I've learned that every company has a story that doesn't appear on the balance sheet. That the decisions which truly transform a business are made in an office at eight in the evening, not in a slide presentation. And that trust is not bought with a high offer, but with the time you spend understanding what the other person isn't saying.
Blue Mountain exists because the kind of capital I would have wanted to find when I started didn't exist in Spain. Capital without urgency, without committees, with someone on the other end of the phone who knows your sector, your problem, and your name. That is what I offer. It isn't little, but neither is the decision you may be considering.
If you are thinking about the future of your company, or simply want a candid conversation with someone who has been where you are, I would like to meet you. No commitment, no clock, no intermediaries.
Dirk Manuel Martens Jiménez
At twenty-three, with the proceeds from a technology exit in his pocket, Dirk Manuel Martens Jiménez had two choices: let the money grow in an index fund or do what he'd wanted to do ever since he watched his first business owner negotiate a sale in Marbella — buy himself a seat at the table where the decisions are made. He chose the latter. In 2010, he founded Blue Mountain Capital Partners on a premise that seemed naive then and is his greatest advantage today: invest only with proprietary capital, with no exit timeline, and sit on every board as if the company were his own. Because it is.
What began with a single acquisition has become, over sixteen years, a track record of more than 150 portfolio companies, over 200 completed transactions, and more than 50 restructurings. He holds an active seat on over 80 boards of directors. Along the way, the businesses under his stewardship have preserved or created more than 2,000 jobs. Not because it makes for a good metric, but because a company without its people is just a tax number.
Educated between Málaga, Cologne, and Madrid — Deutsche Schule, Universität zu Köln, CUNEF —, he moves with equal ease in a boardroom in Munich and a works council meeting in Seville. He speaks German, Spanish, and English without the accent of a translator, and knows the regulatory frameworks on both sides because he has lived them, not because he has studied them. He is a member of the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain (AHK) and speaks at investment forums, though he prefers the conversations that happen afterwards, in the corridor, over coffee.
Entrepreneur since
2005
Companies
150+
Transactions
200+
Active boards
80+
Restructurings
50+
Jobs preserved
2,000+
Languages
Spanish, German, English
DACH–Spain Corridor
In Germany he learned that a board meeting starts on time, that the minutes are signed before anyone leaves, and that an incomplete due diligence is reason enough to walk away from the table. In Spain he learned that the most important deals close after dinner, that a business owner's word is worth more than a term sheet, and that no business plan survives a divided family.
He doesn't talk about "cultural synergies." He speaks German in the boardroom of an industrial firm in Stuttgart and Spanish with the founder of a family business in Murcia, and in both places they know he is one of their own. That isn't taught in an MBA programme. It is learned by growing up with a foot on each shore.
2005
Secondary education at the German School of Marbella. Bilingual German-Spanish schooling in an environment that blends Central European rigour with Mediterranean intuition.
2005–2008
Economics in Cologne and CUNEF. Two schools, two markets, two ways of reading a balance sheet — and the early conviction that he wanted to be on the other side of the table.
2008–2010
Develops and sells a technology project before turning twenty-three. The proceeds from that transaction become the seed capital for Blue Mountain.
2010
Founds Blue Mountain Capital Partners as a direct investment family office. The premise: proprietary capital, sole decision-making, indefinite permanence.
2010–2026
Sixteen years building an active portfolio across five sectors. Over 80 board seats, more than 50 restructurings. AHK member. 2,000+ jobs preserved.
At eight on any given Tuesday morning, Dirk is reviewing the monthly accounts of a logistics company in Valencia. At eleven, he has a board meeting at a hospitality company in Madrid. At four, a call with the operations director of a German industrial firm that needs to renegotiate a contract with its main client. That is what "hands-on involvement" means when you strip away the quotation marks: not supervising from a quarterly report, but knowing the warehouse manager's name and understanding why the margin dropped two points in March.
There is a reason this works. Blue Mountain's capital has no expiry date. There is no fund maturing in 2027, no committee in London asking for an exit to square an IRR. That absence of urgency changes everything: it allows you to say no to a premature sale, weather a difficult year without panic, and make the kind of decisions that are only made when no one is pushing from behind. The decisions that truly transform a company.
And there is something else, something rarely said aloud in this industry: every company that comes to Blue Mountain brings with it people who depend on things going well. Employees, suppliers, entire families. That is not social rhetoric — it is a concrete responsibility that shapes every decision. When you know there are two thousand names behind your numbers, you read the numbers differently.
“The best capital is capital that is in no hurry.”
Indefinite holding period — we invest to build, not to resell.
No investment committees, no external funds — the answer comes from the person who signs the cheque.
Board meetings, team meetings, calls with suppliers — wherever it is needed.
What you built has value beyond an EBITDA multiple — and we treat it that way.
Anonymised for confidentiality. The circumstances are real.
An industrial company with 40 years of history and 120 employees. The founder, at 68, knew his children would not continue, but rejected every offer because no buyer understood that the company was more than a warehouse and a client portfolio. It was his life. Blue Mountain acquired 100% with an agreement that included two years of accompanied transition. The founder continued coming to the factory every morning — no longer as the owner, but as the man who knew every machine and every person on the team best. Today the company's revenue is up 35%. He still drops by on Fridays.
A services company with 200 employees and accumulated debt from three consecutive years of losses. The banks had shut off the tap, the management team was exhausted, and two previous offers had fallen through in due diligence. Blue Mountain came in with fresh capital, negotiated with creditors one by one, replaced the CFO, and redesigned the cost structure in ninety days. No one was let go. Within eighteen months, the company posted its first positive EBITDA in four years. Today it retains its full workforce and has opened a second line of business.
A family logistics company with a strong reputation and a weak balance sheet. The founder, at 55, had hit a ceiling: he needed capital for a new fleet and a modern management system, but didn't want a partner who would tell him how to run his business. Blue Mountain came in as majority shareholder with a clear pact: day-to-day operational decisions remained his. The investment funded fleet renewal, digitalisation, and two new routes. Within three years, revenue doubled. The founder is still in charge. He sleeps better now.
Logistics
Hospitality
Leisure
Circular technology
Engineering
Supporting generational transitions in family businesses. Full acquisition of share capital, preservation of legacy, and professionalisation of management. A direct point of contact for families, advisors, and intermediaries accompanying these processes.
Learn moreCapital and operational expertise for companies with solid fundamentals going through periods of financial or operational stress. Continuity solutions that preserve employment and relationships with suppliers and clients.
Learn moreActive involvement in the operational, financial, and strategic transformation of companies. Direct participation in redefining the business model and optimising processes.
Learn moreDesign and implementation of governance structures that balance family vision with professional rigour. Proven experience on boards of directors in Spanish middle-market companies.
Spanish companies with revenues between €3 million and €50 million, typically in sectors I know well: logistics, hospitality, leisure, circular technology, and engineering. I'm interested in businesses with history, with a team, and with a problem to solve — whether that's a succession, a restructuring, or the need for a capitalised partner to grow. I don't look for startups or listed companies. I look for businesses where sitting on the board makes sense and my experience adds something concrete.
In almost every way. A fund raises money from third parties and has to return it within a timeframe, usually seven to ten years. That means every investment has a clock on it from day one. Here, the capital is mine, family capital, and I owe it to no one. I have no investment committee in another city, I don't need to square an IRR for my LPs, and I am in no hurry to sell. That allows me to make decisions a fund cannot: ride out a bad year, reinvest instead of distributing, or simply wait for the right moment. Most business owners who know me say it's like dealing with another business owner, not a financial institution.
Straightforward. You can write to me through the contact form, or ask your advisor to do so. The first conversation is informal, confidential, and without commitment — usually a call or a coffee. If there's a fit, I sign an NDA before requesting any documents. There are no twenty-page forms or three-month processes to get an initial response. If the opportunity makes sense, I'll know quickly. If it doesn't, I'll tell you quickly too. I value your time as much as my own.
For professionals
If you are a lawyer, tax advisor, accountant, or intermediary accompanying a client through a succession, sale, or restructuring process, Blue Mountain may be the right counterparty. We operate with absolute confidentiality, respond with agility, and do not depend on external investment committees.
63 articles published
A regional hospitality chain with EUR 15 million in revenue, a proven model, and an expansion opportunity. This case illustrates how a buy-and-build strategy can create significant value in a fragmented sector.
A transport and logistics company with EUR 8 million in revenue on the brink of insolvency. This case shows how a simultaneous operational and financial restructuring can transform a distressed company into a profitable and sustainable business.
A family-owned industrial company with four decades of history, EUR 12 million in revenue, and a founder with no clear successor. This case illustrates how a well-planned generational transition can preserve a legacy and generate value for all parties.
A personal reflection on the decision to dedicate over fifteen years to investing in the Spanish middle market and the reasons that continue to reinforce that conviction.
A family-owned food processing group with EUR 25 million in revenue, a 72-year-old founder, and no heir willing to take the helm. Three years of planned transition that preserved the culture, the clients, and the legacy. A case of succession without trauma.
Digitalisation in family businesses goes far beyond buying software. It is a transformation that affects processes, culture, decision-making, and ultimately the company's valuation. We share our experience in digitalising portfolio companies.
If you wish to explore a potential collaboration or present an investment opportunity, we invite you to contact us. We guarantee absolute confidentiality in all our conversations.