Mergers and Acquisitions with a difference

We have years of experience helping business owners prepare and implement successful succession plans. 

 Whether you are looking to sell your business to your management team, your staff or an external buyer there is a process you should follow to ensure the best outcome:

• Discovery - this is about you being able to clearly articulate what you want to achieve in terms of financials, timings, continuing in the business or not after a deal and what your life will look like after this is completed.

• How fit is your business - before you open up your business to scrutiny you need to ensure that business processes, management accounts and regulatory systems are well documented and up to date. Information must be accurate and readily available. Potential issues such as DB transfers or higher risk investments need to be highlighted separately and a clear audit trail  needs to be in place.

• Finding you the right partner - once we know what your goals are, what shape your business is in we can then find suitable buyers for you to consider. Culture is key in getting the right fit for you, your staff and your clients and we will spend a lot of time with you making sure this is right.

• The contractual process -  The more prepared in advance  the less stressful this is! We project manage the process from start to finish and co-ordinate all external parties to ensure a speedy and successful conclusion to the deal. Close project management is essential to keep this process on track and if done correctly there should be no surprises for either buyer or seller.

We are with you from start to finish taking away a lot of the pressure and extra workload that will come during this process allowing you to continue to focus on your business and your new life ahead of you.

No matter how well run or structured your business is there will always be areas that could be improved on. Understanding what these are and, where possible, doing something about them ahead of a sale could significantly increase the value of your business.

Our experience shows that there are areas that will enhance the value of your business in the eyes of an acquirer and areas that will detract value. Understanding how your business measures up will put you in a far stronger position when it comes to negotiations around price and terms.

To help you in this matter and at no cost to you, we can provide you with an initial assessment of your business and the key areas that may need reviewing ahead of a sale.

Simply go to the online appointments page and book a telephone call in the Mergers and Acquisitions section and we can talk you through the next steps to get your free assessment.

One of the tried and tested routes to growing your business faster is to acquire another firm. Very easy to say but not so easy to do. 

Whether you are buying the assets, which is the most common option for smaller deals, or the shares of a firm culture is going to be the key consideration. Knowing the client base and client proposition in great detail is also paramount. 

There are four main stages to complete when acquiring an advisory business and this is how we help you:

1. Briefing Document – spells out very clear on price and payment terms, what you are looking for i.e. size of firm, client numbers, location, how assets are help, charging structure etc. Plus being very clear on why a firm would be interested in selling to you.
2. Corporate ‘head hunt’ – we take the briefing document and pull together a target list which we then approach on your behalf. We hold all initial discussions to then pull together a short list for you to consider. Further joint meetings are held and negotiations undertaken to get you to your choice.
3. Managing the acquisition process – As your representative we project manage the whole process reporting back to you at key stages to allow you time to continue to run your business. We project manage the whole process to agreed timescales to bring the acquisition to completion quickly and on the best terms.
4. Managing the integration – a successful acquisition does not happen when the contract is signed. It happens when the acquired firm, clients and staff are successfully integrated into you business. It is critical that this happens within the first 3 months of the acquisition. Where required we manage this whole process with your staff to make the acquisition a successful one. 

To find out more please go to the online appointments section and book a no cost discovery call at your convenience.

It is expected that a good many smaller IFA firms will sell up over the next five years providing a great opportunity for other firms to significantly grow their own businesses via acquisitions. However acquisitions may be a new market for many so here are a few of key pointers : 

1. Aim for an asset purchase and not a share purchase deal. Asset purchase is more common for smaller deals as it keeps the cost of the acquisition down, is usually quicker to complete, due diligence is easier and you really do not want to be buying the liabilities of the selling business.
2. Client information is absolutely critical. You will have your own set of criteria you will need completing and to help you understand what this could look like please go to the Useful Information section and download the two data sheets. If the vendor is unable to provide you this information then you may wish to rethink the deal.
3. A successful deal is not when the paperwork is signed; it is when the clients of the selling firm are successfully transferred over to your business. This should happen within the first three months from signing the deal and you should make sure the vendor is involved in this as part of the deal terms. Happy clients equate to a successful deal.

Consultancy services should be able to demonstrate immediate benefits to a business which is what we strive to do. Our goal is to make you a more profitable and valuable business whilst reducing the levels of risk within your firm.
It is important that our work is clearly measurable and focussed to ensure you get value.
Key areas of work are:

• Proposition – having well a defined client proposition and investment proposition delivering consistent outcomes significantly improves the performance of a business.
• People – people need to have some form of structure that allows everyone to do their job well and be accountable. Being strong on internal communications builds understanding and loyalty in the team. Happy teams are always good teams. 
• Processes – keeping them simple but well defined and consistent improves efficiency and delivers a good client experience but at the same time reduces cost.
• Profitability - understanding your profitability ratios by segment, what your forecast looks like, what Adviser remuneration scheme you have and how your operating costs break down are critical if you want to make changes to add value to your business.

Change is never easy but the difference of our services is that we will come into your business and implement the plans freeing you up to continue to run your business.

To find out more please go to the online appointments section and book a no cost discovery call at your convenience.

Increasing the profits of a business never comes easy and it as much about the culture and attention to detail then anything else. Expense creep is common  within businesses even at the smallest levels and mindsets need to be changed.

There is a change of wind within IFA acquisitions and more firms are looking to buy on EBITDA rather than on multiple of recurring income. Now is the time to embed a profit/cost conscious culture within your business.

The average multiple on EBITDA for a smaller to medium size IFA is currently between 4-6 times. On the basis we like to get our clients the highest possible price let us assume a 6x multiple. 

Therefore for every £100 you save that goes to profit you increase your value by £600. Conversely for every £100 you add to costs  you lose £600 in value. 

All financial decisions, be they discussions around running costs or capital expenditure should be thought of in these terms.