Acquisition can be one of the most effective ways to grow your business. From defining your acquisition strategy and screening potential targets to structuring the deal and conducting thorough financial and tax due diligence, we combine decades of accounting expertise with practical deal experience to guide you through every stage of the acquisition process.
Streamline your path to success and make buying a business a breeze.
When you’re taking a bold leap into business ownership, our team stands ready as your guide to ensure a successful acquisition. Our service is simple, clear, and transparent because we understand the complexities of buying a business and believe in making it accessible and straightforward.
Set a clear roadmap for success. We help you define a clear acquisition strategy and turn this into a buyer mandate that guides all sourcing and evaluation activity. This includes helping you define your budget and funding strategy and advising on tax efficient deal structure.
A successful acquisition requires the right expertise from the start. We help you to assemble a trusted team of professionals, including accountants, tax specialists, and legal advisers from our networks of contacts, who work together to manage every aspect of the transaction. This collaborative approach ensures that financial, tax, and legal considerations are aligned, reducing risk and keeping the process efficient and well-coordinated.
We help you to build a pipeline of suitable acquisition targets via our advisor networks, research, and direct outreach. Each target is screened against your criteria for strategic fit and financial viability.
Using recognised methods such as EBITDA multiples, Discounted Cashflow and asset-based, we provide you with an independent opinion on a business valuation. Robust valuations help to protect you from overpaying and supports confident, evidence based negotiation.
We make introductions to potential financiers from our professional networks and help you to prepare lender ready materials and financial models.
We advise on optimal deal structure and consider approaches such as share purchase vs asset purchase. Our guidance helps ensure tax efficiency aides risk mitigation, helping you achieve the best possible outcome.
We perform in depth diligence on financial statements, tax and forecast cash flow and provide a report outlining our findings and recommendations. This process helps you uncover risks and make informed decisions.
Calculating normalised working capital is critical to ensuring a fair deal. We perform normalised working capital calculations and identify any excess cash or debt-like items that could impact the final deal price, protecting you from unexpected adjustments.
The Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) is the cornerstone of your acquisition. We work with your legal advisors and provide input into any covenants or warranties included in the SPA document.
We can introduce you to contacts within our professional network and help to prepare forecasts and financial models which can be provided to potential lenders
The Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) is the legal contract that sets out the terms of the acquisition. Whilst your legal advisors prepare the SPA, we work closely with them and provide input into the financial and tax covenants, warranties, and completion mechanics.
Yes. Solicitors handle legal aspects, but accountants focus on financial and tax matters. Both roles are essential for a successful acquisition.
A share purchase means buying the company as a whole, including all assets and liabilities. An asset purchase involves buying selected assets (and sometimes liabilities) rather than the entire entity. Each approach has tax and legal implications, and we advise on the most efficient structure for your situation.
Both are mechanisms used to determine the final purchase price in an acquisition, but they work differently:
Lock Box: The price is fixed based on accounts at an agreed historical date. From that date to completion, the seller cannot extract value except for permitted items. This gives certainty and avoids post-completion adjustments.
Completion Accounts: The price is adjusted after completion based on actual financials at the completion date, typically for working capital, cash, and debt-like items. This reflects the true position but can lead to post-deal negotiations.
There is no one size fits all answer. The timeline for a deal varies depending on deal complexity, due diligence requirements, and negotiations. Once at Heads of Terms stage, most acquisitions take between 3 to 6 months to complete, but larger or more complex deals can take longer.
We love meeting new, exciting businesses. Get in touch with our team to see how we could enhance and protect your financial position.
Or if you’d prefer to speak to someone directly just give us a call on: 08000 664 664 or email: hello@wrpartners.co.uk.
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