Buying a business

When looking at business acquisitions you want to work with professionals who are experienced, proven, and well-connected to make better buying decisions and ensure a smooth process.

We work with you to identify, approach, and negotiate strategic transactions that expedite growth. We leverage our network of direct relationships and our technology to identify and approach the right acquisition targets for you.

We are acutely aware of the considerations involved in making suitable acquisitions, whether it be new products, services, access to talents or geographies, and we use all of our own buying experience to enhance the probability of your success. We also understand that finding the right cultural fit and adopting a well-thought through integration plan is fundamental to the success of an acquisition.

Alongside our buy-side support we can also provide an end-to-end debt advisory solution to fund your acquisition. We have a proven track record of running complex, dual track processes where an acquisition is delivered alongside external funding. This requires multiple workstreams to be managed in parallel which can be extremely challenging when you are trying to run your business.

Our buy-side corporate finance services include:

Undertaking strategic reviews to assess growth areas

Detailed market mapping of potential targets

Valuation analysis

Leveraging our network and direct approach methodology to access targets

Deal negotiation support

Project management and deal implementation support

Debt advisory

Buying a business FAQs

How do I identify targets?

We take time to understand your business and where you are looking to strengthen. We provide appropriate challenge and input to your approach in order to agree a methodology to adopt. We combine our extensive experience of working across many sectors with our in-house research team to define target parameters and provide you with potential buyer profiles.
I've identified a target but I don't know how to approach them?

We use our extensive network of intermediaries, corporates, and direct approach methodology to access the decision makers in the businesses you are targeting. We target businesses sensitively and confidentially on your behalf and take time to ensure that our messaging is specifically targeted to the business we are approaching and that we can articulate why you are interested in a conversation to acquire them.
How much should I pay?

Every business has its nuances and is a living, breathing organism. Valuing “moving” objects requires a combination of technical and commercial experience together with an understanding of what drives value. Business values are normally benchmarked against other similar business transactions and listed comparable companies. We take the time to understand the specifics of the target business, its journey and trajectory and what value the target adds to your business (its synergy value). We cross-reference this to our bank of valuation experience and data points to determine a view on value prior to embarking on a process.

This firm is regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for a range of investment business activities. This firm is not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 but we are able in certain circumstances to offer a limited range of investment services to clients because we are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. We can provide these investment services if they are an incidental part of the professional services we have been engaged to provide.

Advisory services that are clear, pragmatic and down to earth