As a Chartered Accountant who has bought, built and sold businesses, and structured deals on both sides of the table, I know what separates a great acquisition from a costly mistake.
The £1.6m turnover business I bought was a fitted furniture company.
I knew nothing about fitted furniture when I bought the business, but it had 27 employees who ran the day-to-day operations without me. That only works when you focus on buying the right business — not just any business.
I've also grown an elderly care business from £300k in sales and barely surviving, to £1.1m turnover company with over £100k in profit.
I've sold businesses too — once as a motivated seller, and once on seller finance — so I know exactly what's going through the seller's mind when you're sitting across the table.
And I've lost deals too. I once had a £2m-turnover civil engineering business with £250k cash flow under offer. This deal was 100% financed at £480k, with £260k on seller finance. When this deal fell apart, I learned more from the mistakes I made than almost any other.
But I’ve also faced challenges far bigger than a deal to buy a business going wrong.
I bought and built a business, then sold it after surviving a life-threatening illness. And when you’ve been through that, you realise something most buyers don’t:”
"The wrong deal might cost you money — but it won’t kill you."
What will hurt you is going in blind, overpaying, or structuring it the wrong way.
That perspective is what I bring to your business buying process, so you can move forward with clarity, structure the deal properly, and avoid the costly mistakes that most first-time buyers make.
