Acumon is a leading UK accountancy firm* providing comprehensive advisory services to optimise your business purchase. We help you find sellers, secure finance (debt or equity), and navigate every stage of the acquisition process from initial target identification through to post-acquisition integration. Our real-world acquisition experience, combined with our technical and financial expertise, enables us to provide practical advice that helps reduce purchase risks and negotiate better deals.

Pre-Negotiation Advice

Successful business acquisitions begin with thorough preparation and strategic planning. Our pre-negotiation advisory service helps you identify acquisition opportunities, assess target value accurately, and develop a clear acquisition strategy that aligns with your business objectives. We understand that the value of a business may differ significantly from an "accounts-based" value, and our expertise enables us to identify the true economic value and potential of acquisition targets.

Identifying Acquisition Needs and Finding Targets

We work with you to identify your strategic acquisition objectives, whether you're seeking to expand into new markets, acquire technology or intellectual property, consolidate market position, or diversify your business portfolio.

Our network and market knowledge enable us to help identify potential acquisition targets that align with your strategic objectives. We can assist with target screening, initial assessments, and introductions where appropriate, helping you build a pipeline of potential acquisition opportunities.

Calculating Target Value

We provide comprehensive valuation services that go beyond accounts-based valuations to assess the true economic value of acquisition targets. Our valuation approach considers multiple factors, including:

Quality and sustainability of earnings
Market position and competitive dynamics
Growth prospects and strategic value
Asset values and working capital requirements
Synergies and integration opportunities
Risk factors and potential liabilities

Our valuation expertise enables you to make informed decisions on acquisition pricing and negotiate from a position of strength.

Clarifying Thinking and Identifying Synergies

We help you clarify your acquisition rationale and identify potential synergies and strategic benefits that may not be immediately apparent. Our structured approach enables you to:

Define clear acquisition objectives and success criteria
Identify operational, commercial, and financial synergies
Assess strategic benefits and competitive advantages
Evaluate integration challenges and opportunities
Develop a clear business case for the acquisition

This clarity enables you to make informed decisions and communicate your acquisition rationale effectively to stakeholders, including lenders, investors, and board members.

Liaising with Due Diligence Team

We coordinate with your due diligence team to ensure comprehensive coverage of all relevant areas, from financial and tax due diligence through to operational, commercial, and legal assessments.

Our integrated approach ensures that due diligence findings inform valuation, negotiation, and transaction structuring, enabling you to address identified risks proactively and structure the transaction to maximise value while mitigating risks.

Negotiation Advice

Effective negotiation is critical to successful acquisitions. We help you negotiate the terms of purchase from initial expression of interest through to final contract, ensuring that transaction terms protect your interests while remaining acceptable to sellers. Our negotiation advice considers all aspects of the transaction, from purchase price and payment terms through to warranties, guarantees, and post-acquisition arrangements.

Our negotiation support covers the following key areas:

Deferred Payments and Earn-Outs

We advise on structuring deferred payments and earn-out arrangements that align seller incentives with post-acquisition performance while managing buyer risk. Our expertise includes:

Designing earn-out structures that incentivise desired behaviours
Negotiating earn-out metrics and measurement methodologies
Structuring deferred payments to manage cash flow and risk
Addressing potential disputes and ensuring clear documentation

Our advice helps you structure deferred payments and earn-outs that protect your interests while remaining attractive to sellers.

Identifying Tax Benefits for the Seller

We help you identify tax benefits for sellers that can be used as negotiation leverage, potentially enabling you to negotiate better terms or prices. Our tax expertise enables us to:

Identify seller tax reliefs and exemptions that may be available
Assess the impact of transaction structure on seller tax position
Use tax benefits as negotiation leverage
Structure transactions to optimise tax outcomes for both parties

Understanding seller tax benefits can enable you to negotiate more favourable terms while helping sellers achieve their tax objectives.

Deal Structure

We advise on optimal deal structures considering percentage ownerships, timeframes, and financial risk allocation. Our deal structuring advice includes:

Percentage Ownerships: Determining optimal ownership structures, including consideration of minority interests, joint ventures, and staged acquisitions
Timeframes: Structuring transaction timelines that balance speed with thoroughness, ensuring adequate time for due diligence and negotiation
Financial Risk: Allocating financial risk appropriately between buyer and seller, including consideration of working capital adjustments, completion accounts, and warranty claims

Our deal structuring expertise helps you achieve optimal transaction terms while managing risk effectively.

Financial Risk Transfer

We advise on financial risk transfer across all funding sources, ensuring that risk is allocated appropriately and that all parties understand their obligations. Our advice covers:

Debt: Structuring acquisition debt, including senior debt, mezzanine finance, and vendor loans, with appropriate risk allocation and security arrangements
Your Funds: Optimising the use of your own funds, including consideration of equity injection, working capital funding, and reserve requirements
Private Equity: Structuring private equity funding, including consideration of equity structures, preference shares, and exit arrangements
Sellers Funds: Negotiating seller funding arrangements, including upfront and deferred payments, vendor loans, and earn-out structures
Suppliers: Managing supplier relationships and credit terms, ensuring continuity of supply while managing credit risk

Our financial risk transfer advice helps you structure transactions that manage risk effectively while optimising funding arrangements.

HR Issues

We advise on human resources issues that may affect transaction value or post-acquisition operations, including:

Employment contract terms and obligations
Pension scheme liabilities and transfer arrangements
Key employee retention and incentive arrangements
Redundancy obligations and employment law compliance
Share scheme arrangements and their treatment in the transaction

Our HR advice helps you identify and address employment-related risks and opportunities, ensuring smooth post-acquisition integration.

Operational Risks

We help identify and assess operational risks that may affect transaction value or post-acquisition operations, including:

Systems and process dependencies
Supplier and customer concentration risks
Regulatory compliance and licensing requirements
IT infrastructure and cybersecurity risks
Operational efficiency and scalability considerations

Our operational risk assessment helps you identify potential issues early and structure transactions to mitigate identified risks.

Warranties and Guarantees

We advise on warranty and guarantee negotiations, ensuring that you receive appropriate protection while remaining acceptable to sellers. Our advice includes:

Identifying key warranty areas and negotiating comprehensive warranty coverage
Assessing warranty limitations and exclusions
Negotiating warranty caps and de minimis thresholds
Structuring guarantee arrangements where appropriate
Ensuring warranty claims processes are clear and enforceable

Our warranty and guarantee advice helps you negotiate appropriate protection while maintaining transaction momentum.

Financial and Funding Advice

Securing appropriate funding is critical to successful acquisitions. We provide comprehensive financial and funding advice, helping you create efficient funding structures, raise capital from multiple sources, and optimise tax structures for both buyers and sellers. Our funding expertise covers debt, private equity, and hybrid debt/equity instruments, enabling us to structure optimal funding arrangements for your specific circumstances.

Creating Efficient Funding Structures

We help create efficient funding structures that enable funds to be raised more easily while optimising cost and risk. Our funding structure advice includes:

Designing optimal capital structures balancing debt and equity
Structuring funding to minimise cost and maximise flexibility
Ensuring funding structures meet lender and investor requirements
Optimising funding structures for tax efficiency

Our efficient funding structures help you raise capital more easily while optimising cost and risk.

Raising Capital

We assist with raising capital from multiple sources, including:

Debt: Senior debt, mezzanine finance, asset-based lending, and other debt instruments
Private Equity: Equity investment, preference shares, and hybrid equity instruments
Hybrid Debt/Equity Instruments: Convertible debt, loan notes, and other hybrid instruments that combine debt and equity characteristics

Our capital raising support helps you access appropriate funding from multiple sources, ensuring that funding arrangements meet your needs while remaining attractive to funders.

Optimising Tax Structures

We provide tax structuring advice for both buyers and sellers, optimising tax outcomes while ensuring compliance. Our tax structuring expertise includes:

Structuring transactions to optimise tax reliefs and exemptions
Minimising tax liabilities for both buyers and sellers
Ensuring tax-efficient funding structures
Addressing post-transaction tax planning opportunities

Our tax structuring advice helps you optimise tax outcomes while ensuring compliance with all relevant tax legislation.

Restructuring

We advise on corporate restructuring that may be required as part of the acquisition process, including:

Group restructuring to optimise structure and tax efficiency
Asset and liability transfers
Company reorganisations and demergers
Integration planning and execution

Our restructuring advice helps you achieve optimal corporate structures while managing tax and legal implications.

Pensions

We advise on pension scheme issues that may affect acquisition transactions, including:

Pension scheme liabilities and funding requirements
Pension scheme transfers and consolidation
Pension scheme compliance and regulatory requirements
Pension scheme risks and opportunities

Our pension advice helps you identify and address pension-related risks and opportunities, ensuring that pension issues do not derail transactions.

Post-Acquisition Advice

Successful acquisitions require effective post-acquisition integration and value creation. Our post-acquisition advisory service helps you retain key staff, integrate systems and operations, create management incentive plans, and increase the post-purchase value of your acquisition. We understand that the real value of acquisitions is often created after completion, and our post-acquisition advice helps you realise that value.

Staff Retention

We advise on staff retention strategies that help you retain key employees and maintain business continuity. Our staff retention advice includes:

Identifying key employees and retention risks
Designing retention bonuses and incentive arrangements
Addressing employment contract terms and obligations
Managing cultural integration and employee engagement

Our staff retention advice helps you retain key talent while maintaining business continuity and momentum.

Systems Integration

We advise on systems integration planning and execution, ensuring that acquired businesses are integrated effectively while minimising disruption. Our systems integration advice includes:

Assessing IT infrastructure and system compatibility
Planning systems integration and migration
Managing data migration and system consolidation
Ensuring business continuity during integration

Our systems integration advice helps you integrate acquired businesses effectively while minimising disruption and risk.

Management Incentive Plans

We advise on creating management incentive plans, including Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes, that align management interests with business objectives. Our incentive plan advice includes:

Designing EMI schemes and other tax-efficient incentive arrangements
Structuring incentive plans to align with business objectives
Ensuring compliance with tax and employment law requirements
Addressing valuation and exercise arrangements

Our management incentive plan advice helps you create tax-efficient incentive arrangements that align management interests with business success.

Increasing Post-Purchase Value

We advise on strategies to increase the post-purchase value of your acquisition, including:

Identifying and realising synergies
Improving operational efficiency and profitability
Expanding market position and revenue opportunities
Optimising capital structure and funding arrangements

Our value creation advice helps you realise the full potential of your acquisition, ensuring that you achieve your acquisition objectives and maximise returns.

Your Helping Hand

Beyond providing technical and financial advice, we support you through your purchase process and help you remain focused on your objectives. Acquisitions can be complex and time-consuming, and it's easy to lose sight of strategic objectives amid the detail of due diligence, negotiation, and transaction execution.

Our role as your helping hand includes:

Strategic Guidance: Helping you maintain focus on strategic objectives and ensuring that transaction decisions align with your business strategy
Process Management: Coordinating with your team and advisors to ensure that all aspects of the transaction progress smoothly and on schedule
Risk Management: Identifying and addressing risks proactively, ensuring that potential issues are resolved before they become problems
Communication: Facilitating effective communication between all parties, ensuring that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities
Decision Support: Providing clear, actionable advice that enables you to make informed decisions at each stage of the acquisition process

We understand that successful acquisitions require more than technical expertise – they require practical guidance and support throughout the entire process. Our helping hand approach ensures that you have the support you need to navigate the acquisition process successfully.

Real-World Expertise

We deliver exceptional value through our practical understanding of business acquisitions gained from hands-on experience. Rather than just advising on acquisitions, we have made many successful acquisitions ourselves, providing us with unique insights into the practical challenges and opportunities that arise during the acquisition process. This hands-on experience enables us to provide more relevant, practical advice that reflects the realities of transaction execution and post-acquisition integration.

Stuart Thomson: Private Equity and Major Transaction Experience

Our Partner, J Stuart Thomson, brings exceptional transaction expertise to our buying a business advisory service. Stuart's background includes:

Private Equity Principal Experience: Stuart was previously a private equity principal, providing him with deep understanding of private equity investment processes, due diligence requirements, and transaction structuring. This experience enables him to provide acquisition advice that reflects private equity investor perspectives and requirements.
Major Infrastructure Transactions: Stuart has advised on some of the UK's most significant infrastructure transactions, including the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) of a hospital, demonstrating his expertise in complex, high-value transactions with multiple stakeholders and intricate financing structures.
Debt Restructuring Expertise: Stuart advised on the debt restructuring of Croydon Tramlink, providing him with extensive experience in financial restructuring, creditor negotiations, and complex financing arrangements that are often relevant in acquisition transactions.
Privatisation Experience: Stuart advised on the National Air Traffic Control System (NATS) privatisation, one of the UK's most significant privatisation transactions, demonstrating his expertise in large-scale, complex transactions with regulatory, operational, and financial complexities.

Stuart's transaction experience, combined with our firm's own acquisition experience, provides our buying a business advisory service with unique insights that enable us to provide practical, relevant advice that helps you achieve better acquisition outcomes.

View Stuart Thomson's full profile →

Why Choose Acumon for Buying a Business

Leading UK Accountancy Firm

As a leading UK accountancy firm, we have the resources, expertise, and infrastructure to provide comprehensive advisory services for acquisitions of all sizes, from small business purchases to complex corporate transactions.

Real-World Acquisition Experience

Unlike many advisory firms, we have made multiple successful acquisitions ourselves, providing unique insights into the practical challenges and opportunities that arise during the acquisition process.

Private Equity and Major Transaction Expertise

Our Partner's background as a private equity principal and advisor on major infrastructure transactions provides exceptional transaction expertise that informs our buying a business advisory service.

Full-Service Firm

As a growing, full-service, mid-sized firm of Chartered Accountants with over 90+ UK-based professionals, we have the resources and expertise to address your corporate finance requirements while remaining small enough to care.

Integrated Expertise

Our integrated approach combines financial, tax, accounting, and audit expertise, enabling us to provide comprehensive advice that addresses all aspects of the acquisition process.

Practical Guidance

Beyond technical expertise, we provide practical guidance and support throughout the acquisition process, helping you stay focused on your objectives and navigate the complexities of business acquisitions.

Next Step

Reach out to our team to discover how we can help reduce your business purchase risks and secure more favourable transaction terms. Our experienced professionals will deliver comprehensive advisory services tailored to your acquisition, covering target identification and valuation through negotiation, funding, and post-acquisition integration.

*Acumon is positioned among the leading UK accountancy firms, having been only £37k short of the top 100 in the Accountancy Age 50+50 list for 2024. Since publication, there have been significant market consolidations; Acumon has continued to grow organically and through strategic acquisitions. Our substantial client base and PIE audit license demonstrate our capability and market position.

Buying a Business – Advisory Services