Acumon is a leading UK accountancy firm* providing comprehensive MBO and MBI advisory services to support both sellers and buyers in management buy-out and management buy-in transactions. We frequently help arrange financing packages (debt or equity) and provide comprehensive support throughout the entire MBO/MBI process, from initial planning through to post-completion integration. Our real-world experience includes multiple successful MBOs and an MBI, providing us with unique insights that enable us to provide practical, relevant advice and help you achieve better outcomes.

Services for Sellers and Buyers

Our MBO/MBI advisory service supports both sellers and buyers, providing comprehensive support throughout the transaction process. We understand that MBO/MBI transactions have unique characteristics, including the need to balance seller and management team interests, structure financing for management teams, and create incentive arrangements that align management interests with business success. Our comprehensive service addresses all aspects of MBO/MBI transactions, ensuring that all parties achieve their objectives.

Our MBO/MBI advisory service frequently helps arrange financing packages (debt or equity) and covers the following key areas:

Optimising Tax Positioning

Tax efficiency is critical to maximising value for both sellers and buyers in MBO/MBI transactions. We provide comprehensive tax planning advice to optimise tax positions for all parties, including:

For Sellers: Business Asset Disposal Relief (formerly Entrepreneurs' Relief) planning, timing strategies, and transaction structuring to minimise Capital Gains Tax liabilities
For Management Teams: Tax-efficient equity participation, EMI scheme design, and structuring to minimise income tax and National Insurance liabilities
Transaction structure optimisation to achieve tax-efficient outcomes for all parties
Pre-transaction tax planning to clean up tax positions and maximise reliefs
Post-transaction tax planning and ongoing tax optimisation

Our tax optimisation advice can significantly increase net proceeds for sellers and reduce tax costs for management teams, often saving substantial amounts in tax liabilities.

Creating Efficient Funding Structures

We help create efficient funding structures that enable funds to be raised more easily, which is critical for MBO/MBI transactions where management teams typically need external financing. 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
Facilitating introductions to lenders and private equity investors

Our efficient funding structures help management teams raise capital more easily while optimising cost and risk, enabling successful MBO/MBI transactions.

Undertaking Due Diligence

We undertake due diligence, if required, to support MBO/MBI transactions. Our due diligence service helps identify risks, validate assumptions, and inform transaction structuring. Our MBO/MBI due diligence includes:

Financial due diligence assessing business performance and position
Tax due diligence identifying tax risks and opportunities
Operational due diligence evaluating operational processes and systems
Commercial due diligence assessing market position and competitive dynamics
Management team assessment evaluating management capability and readiness

Our due diligence helps all parties understand the business, identify risks and opportunities, and structure transactions to maximise value while managing risk.

Negotiating Contracts

We help negotiate all aspects of MBO/MBI contracts, ensuring that transaction terms protect all parties' interests while maintaining transaction momentum. Our contract negotiation covers:

Warranties: Negotiating warranty scope, limitations, and caps to protect seller and buyer interests while remaining acceptable to all parties. We help structure warranties that provide appropriate protection without creating excessive risk exposure.
Guarantees: Advising on guarantee arrangements, including personal guarantees, corporate guarantees, and security arrangements, ensuring that guarantees are appropriate and limited where possible.
Deferred Consideration and Performance-Linked Payments: Structuring deferred consideration and earn-out arrangements that balance seller and management team interests. We help design earn-out structures that are achievable while protecting seller interests, and negotiate deferred payment terms that manage risk effectively.

Our contract negotiation expertise helps all parties achieve optimal terms while maintaining transaction momentum and ensuring successful MBO/MBI outcomes.

Creating Management Incentive Plans

We help create management incentive plans, including Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes, that align management interests with business success. Our incentive plan advice includes:

Designing EMI schemes and other tax-efficient incentive arrangements
Structuring equity participation for management teams
Ensuring compliance with tax and employment law requirements
Addressing valuation and exercise arrangements
Aligning incentive plans with business objectives and exit strategies

Our management incentive plan expertise helps structure transactions that motivate management teams while optimising tax outcomes for all parties.

Raising Capital from Debt or Private Equity

We frequently help arrange financing packages (debt or equity) for MBO/MBI transactions, which is critical for management teams who typically need external financing. Our capital raising support includes:

Structuring financing packages that attract lenders and investors
Facilitating introductions to debt providers and private equity investors
Supporting management teams through financing processes
Optimising financing structures for transaction success
Negotiating financing terms and conditions

By helping management teams secure funding, we can enable successful MBO/MBI transactions while optimising financing arrangements for all parties.

Post-Completion Advice

Our MBO/MBI advisory service extends beyond transaction completion to support management teams and sellers in the post-completion period. Successful MBO/MBI transactions require effective post-completion integration and value creation, and our post-completion advice helps ensure that transactions achieve their objectives and create value for all parties.

Staff Retention

We advise on staff retention strategies that help maintain business continuity and protect value after MBO/MBI transactions. 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
Ensuring key talent is retained during and after the transaction

Our staff retention advice helps protect business value by ensuring key talent is retained during and after MBO/MBI transactions.

Systems Integration

We advise on systems integration planning and execution, ensuring that 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
Minimising disruption and risk during integration

Our systems integration advice helps management teams integrate businesses effectively while minimising disruption and risk.

Business Growth Plans

We advise on business growth plans that help realise acquisition value and achieve strategic objectives. Our business growth advice includes:

Developing strategic growth plans and initiatives
Identifying growth opportunities and market expansion strategies
Planning operational improvements and efficiency gains
Supporting implementation of growth strategies
Ensuring growth plans align with financing arrangements and investor expectations

Our business growth advice helps management teams realise acquisition value and achieve their strategic objectives.

Exit Strategy

We advise on exit strategies that help realise investment value for management teams and investors. Our exit strategy advice includes:

Developing exit strategies and value realisation plans
Planning for future sale or refinancing
Optimising business value for exit
Supporting exit planning and execution
Ensuring exit strategies align with management team and investor objectives

Our exit strategy advice helps management teams and investors plan for future value realisation and optimise business value for exit.

Your Helping Hand

As well as providing technical and financial advice, we support you through the ups and downs of your deal and help you remain focused on your objectives. MBO/MBI transactions can be complex and emotionally challenging, and it's easy to lose sight of strategic objectives amid the detail of negotiations, due diligence, and transaction execution.

Our role as your helping hand includes:

Strategic Guidance: Helping you maintain focus on transaction objectives and ensuring that transaction decisions align with your business and personal goals
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
Emotional Support: Providing support through the emotional challenges of MBO/MBI transactions, helping you navigate difficult decisions and maintain perspective
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 transaction process

We understand that successful MBO/MBI transactions 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 transaction process successfully and achieve your objectives.

Real-World MBO/MBI Expertise

We provide exceptional value because we understand business acquisitions from practical experience. Rather than just advising on MBO/MBI transactions, we have made multiple successful MBOs and an MBI ourselves, providing us with unique insights into the practical challenges and opportunities that arise during MBO/MBI transactions. This hands-on experience enables us to provide more relevant, practical advice that reflects the realities of transaction execution and helps you achieve better outcomes.

Practical Transaction Experience

Our real-world MBO/MBI experience provides unique insights that enable us to:

Understand Transaction Dynamics: Our experience as buyers in MBO/MBI transactions enables us to understand the perspectives and concerns of all parties, helping you negotiate more effectively
Identify Transaction Risks: Our practical experience helps us identify risks and issues that may not be apparent to advisors without transaction experience
Structure Optimal Deals: Our understanding of both seller and management team perspectives enables us to structure transactions that work for all parties
Navigate Transaction Challenges: Our experience helps us anticipate and address transaction challenges before they become problems
Facilitate Financing: Our experience with MBO/MBI financing enables us to help management teams secure funding more effectively

This practical experience, combined with our technical expertise, enables us to provide advice that helps you achieve better outcomes than advisors without transaction experience.

Why Choose Acumon for MBO/MBI Advisory

Leading UK Accountancy Firm

As a leading UK accountancy firm, we have the resources, expertise, and infrastructure to provide comprehensive MBO/MBI advisory services for transactions of all sizes, from small management buy-outs to complex corporate transactions.

Real-World MBO/MBI Experience

Unlike many advisory firms, we have made multiple successful MBOs and an MBI ourselves, providing unique insights into the practical challenges and opportunities that arise during MBO/MBI transactions and enabling us to provide more relevant, practical advice.

Great Value

We deliver exceptional value through our proven experience and expertise. Our practical transaction experience, combined with our technical expertise, enables us to provide advice that helps you achieve better outcomes while optimising costs.

Rapid Completion

As a growing, full-service, mid-sized firm of Chartered Accountants with over 90+ UK-based professionals, we have the resources and expertise to complete your MBO/MBI rapidly while maintaining the highest standards of quality and thoroughness.

Financing Support

We frequently help arrange financing packages (debt or equity) for MBO/MBI transactions, which is critical for management teams who typically need external financing. Our financing support can accelerate transactions and improve deal certainty.

Integrated Expertise

Our integrated approach combines financial, tax, accounting, and advisory expertise, enabling us to provide comprehensive MBO/MBI advice that addresses all aspects of transactions, from tax optimisation through to post-completion integration.

Next Step

Get in touch with our team today to mitigate your MBO/MBI risks and secure more favourable transaction terms. Our experienced professionals will deliver comprehensive advisory services tailored to your specific transaction, covering initial planning and financing through tax optimisation, negotiation support, and post-completion 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.

MBO and MBI Advisory Services