Corporate Finance

Financial due diligence is a key step in any business acquisition and essential in identifying matters which may determine both deal pricing and structure.

We will work with you to compile an appropriate, risk-focused scope for your due diligence exercise and then undertake detailed analysis and interpretation of relevant historical data and forecast financial information. Our no surprises approach means keeping you informed of progress and potential issues as they arise and enables key findings to be dealt with on a timely basis.

Key financial matters will be highlighted in our due diligence report together with appropriate recommendations to mitigate risks and drive transaction value.

Our corporate finance and tax teams will work closely together throughout the due diligence process to provide timely and valuable advice relating to both tax structuring and completion mechanisms.

For more information please contact a member of our corporate finance team.

Preparing a business plan is an essential step in securing finance from third party investors or lenders. We will work with you to identify the unique selling points of your business and ensure they are clearly communicated in a professionally prepared document which also sets out your company’s history, strategy and key employees.

A key component of any business plan is a set of financial projections based upon clearly defined financial and operational assumptions. Our experienced financial modelling team will assist in preparing these projections and work with you to establish assumptions which are reasonable and which will stand up to third party scrutiny.

Our experienced team can advise you on the right type of finance for your business and draw upon their extensive network to effect introductions to potential investors or lenders.

For more information please contact a member of our corporate finance team.

Selling a business where there is an expectation of multiple bidders can be disruptive to your business and place a strain on precious management time especially when the buy side due diligence process begins and is repeated several times with multiple prospective purchasers.

Vendor Due Diligence (VDD) can streamline the process by allowing different prospective purchasers access to the same independently compiled report.

As well as facilitating the buy side due diligence process, VDD has the obvious advantage of reducing management input to a single due diligence exercise and also enables the management team to clearly present sell side messages in a report which remains objective and independently compiled.

In preparing the VDD report we may also identify potential deal issues at a stage early enough to allow management driven resolution thereby allowing you to retain control over the sale process.

For more information please contact a member of our corporate finance team.

For many of our clients the sale of all, or part, of their business is one of the most significant financial and emotional transactions they will undertake. A structured approach to planning and executing the sales process is an essential part in protecting the value in what for many people will be a once in a lifetime deal.

We take time to understand your business, its Unique Selling Points and what you want to achieve from the sale or exit process.

Our partner-led team will then work with you and/or your management team to draft the essential sales documents, set a realistic deal timetable and co-ordinate the input of other advisers on both the sell side and buy side to ensure this timetable is adhered to.

When a deal is struck we work closely with your lawyers to help negotiate the financial components of the share or asset purchase agreement and ensure your value is protected.  We can also recommend a lawyer to you who would be appropriate to the transaction.

For more information please contact a member of our corporate finance team.

Is your business profitable but not generating cash as it should?

Upon reviewing your current and historical financial information we will use a combination of ratio analysis and industry benchmarking to identify where your levels of debtors, creditors and stocks should be and devise a strategic work plan to help maximise your free cash balance.

For more information please contact a member of our corporate finance team.

Our vendor assist services are ideally suited to businesses looking to sell but which may have limited resource in their finance function or management team. Our services are designed to reduce the chances of a deal aborting, reducing the length of the buy side due diligence process and ultimately providing you with enhanced negotiation power.

It may also be an appropriate service if you are not yet ready to commit to a sales process or wish to generate, or obtain comfort over, management information before embarking on a full scope Vendor Due Diligence exercise.

If you wish to involve us only at the deal execution stage we can advise on the sale and purchase agreement to help protect deal value.

For more information please contact a member of our corporate finance team.

Achieving a successful flotation requires careful and detailed planning. It is essential that management gain a thorough understanding of the relevant stock market admission and ongoing compliance requirements before embarking on their IPO journey and we can work with you to ensure all bases are covered.

We offer a range of IPO related services with a particular emphasis on alternative markets such as AIM and Nasdaq First North. Our services will guide you through the whole flotation process and include:

• Pre-IPO fundraising: Raising funds 12-18 months in advance of an IPO adds credibility to the company and allows pre IPO deadlines to be met and deliverables to be achieved. Establishing a sound pre IPO investor base also allows the company to deal with the financial consequences of any postponement of the IPO in the instance of adverse stock market conditions.

• Admission services: We will work with you at the onset of your IPO journey to advise on the appropriateness of your chosen stock market and help you formulate a realistic and achievable IPO timetable. We can assist in the preparation of your business plan and financial models underpinning your prospective financial information. Drawing upon our network of contacts in the finance community we can help you select an appropriate stock broker or, for AIM listings, nominated adviser (NOMAD).

• Reporting accountant services: As reporting accountants we will provide an audit opinion on the historical financial information to be included in the admission document and undertake financial due diligence on the issuer or acquisition target (included in a long form report addressed to the company’s directors and NOMAD/broker). We will also provide a report and opinion on the adequacy of post IPO working capital and a separate report and opinion on the financial position and prospects of the Company. In advance of the IPO our DSG tax team can advise on pre and post float IPO planning as well as assisting with tax structuring and providing relevant tax clearances.

For more information please contact Iain White at 0151 294 5400.