CORPORATE FINANCE

We pride ourselves on the service we provide to our clients. Our corporate finance team will work closely with you to understand your aims, explore your options and secure the right deal.

Our personal approach means we keep you up to date with all developments and support you at every step of the process, sometimes long after the deal is done.

In addition to assisting owner-managed, Private Equity-backed and Public companies with their acquisition strategies, we have substantial experience in advising management teams considering company acquisitions (Management Buyouts) as well as ambitious individuals interested in pursuing MBIs (Management Buy-Ins) and indeed BIMBOs (Buy-In-Management-Buy-Outs).

Our merger and acquisition experts will help you:

• Develop your acquisition strategy
• Identify potential targets
• Approach and negotiate with targets
• Undertake valuation of target businesses
• Negotiate and agree the deal
• Advise on tax structuring
• Assist with raising external finance
• Overall project management, including liaising with other professional advisers

Our corporate finance team will work with you in order to understand your goals and objectives and will advise you on the best strategy to achieve them. Whether you are hoping to stay active in the business, are looking for a trade sale, wish to sell to a financial institution or are considering a management buy-in, our team have the experience and skills to deliver a highly successful outcome.

We manage the entire sale process, from preparation and distribution of an information memorandum, to negotiating and agreeing the commercial terms of each deal. Our services include:

• Exit planning
• Valuation of your business
• Identifying potential buyers
• Advice on a suitable marketing plan
• Selection of the preferred buyer
• Providing advice on tax aspects of the sale
• Vendor due diligence
• Negotiating all commercial terms of an offer
• Overall project management including liaising with other professional advisers

If you’re looking to grow, make an acquisition, or buy-in to or buy-out a business, you might not be able to finance your plans from cash flow alone. But with so many sources of finance available, finding and assessing the best solution for your needs can be a complex and lengthy process.

Our corporate finance team are experts in helping you assess finance options, understand the risks and secure the right funding solution for your situation. We help clients of all sizes and specialisms across a broad range of situations, from MBOs and MBIs to expansion plans and acquisitions.

Thanks to our network of funders – including venture capital providers, banks, crowd funders, asset-based lenders and grant providers such as local development agencies – we’re confident that we can identify and help deliver the most suitable funding solution for your needs.

We also understand that raising finance is often just the first step. We regularly continue to work with our clients beyond the raising of finance to conduct due diligence and provide ongoing strategic advice.

An independent assessment of the strengths and risks in a business is an important factor in any transaction, whether you’re making an acquisition, preparing to sell or looking to invest.

Our Transaction Services Team provide clear, concise due diligence reports for a wide variety of transactions across multiple sectors.

Experienced in working to a tight timetable, we will agree the scope of the review at the outset and communicate with you every step of the way. We take great care to deliver reports that reflect your needs but at the same time remain objective. If we uncover critical issues, we bring these to your attention immediately, and work with you to evaluate the implications and assess how best to proceed.

With more funds available but fewer high-quality, mid-market assets on offer, many equity houses are realigning their sights from pure buyout deals to growth-focused investment opportunities.

Competition for high-quality assets with strong management teams is leading to higher valuations at the point of investment, as well as better terms for those running the business. This surplus of growth-focused capital has created one of the most vendor-friendly fundraising atmospheres we have ever seen in the UK.

Our specialist private equity team can guide you through the fundraising process, offering expert advice and support every step of the way. With strong relationships with all of the most active investors in the private equity mid-market, not only can we help identify the most suitable investors, but we can also help you forge the best possible deal and navigate the process in the most effective and efficient way.