Every acquisition starts
with the seller's numbers.
The question is whether you have your own.
Independent valuation and funding feasibility for UK SME acquisitions. Excel model, Memorandum and written report. Delivered in 2 working days.
Built by a practising M&A analyst โ FMVA, CBCA (CFI certified) โ with 30 years of UK deal experience across ยฃ2mโยฃ250m enterprise value.
The broker pack is a
sales document.
It was never meant
to be your model.
Whether you've done this before or this is your first acquisition, the starting point is always the same: you receive a set of numbers prepared by the seller's side, and you have to decide what they're actually worth.
The EBITDA includes add-backs you wouldn't allow. The "adjusted earnings" have been adjusted in the seller's favour. The cash flow projection assumes nothing goes wrong. And the asking price is anchored to a multiple the broker chose โ not one the market or a lender would support.
Experienced buyers know this. First-time buyers learn it the hard way. But knowing it and having an independent model that proves it are two different things.
Without your own numbers, you're negotiating on the seller's terms. You're presenting a case to your board or your lender that you can't fully defend. And you're spending weeks โ sometimes months โ progressing a deal that may not survive the scrutiny it will eventually face.
The issue isn't competence. It's that building an independent valuation model and stress-testing funding feasibility takes time most buyers don't have mid-deal โ and objectivity that's difficult to maintain when you're already invested in the outcome.
You're working from the seller's normalised EBITDA, not your own. A ยฃ150k EBITDA gap at 5ร is ยฃ750,000 off the price. That difference is invisible until someone runs an independent number โ and by then, you've either overpaid or lost negotiating ground.
Financial RiskThe bank runs its own debt service calculation. If the cash flow doesn't cover the debt on their terms โ not yours โ the structure fails at credit committee. That usually happens after you've spent months and professional fees getting to that stage.
Structural RiskTrade buyers stall because the model won't survive board scrutiny. First-time buyers stall because they can't move to a funded position. Corporate finance professionals stall because they don't have the bandwidth to build a proper model mid-deal.
Terminal RiskWhat we actually do โ
and what you get.
We take the information you already have โ accounts, broker pack, management numbers โ and build an independent model that answers two questions.
Not what the seller hopes. Not what the broker implies. What the normalised earnings support, with adjustments made visible and assumptions you can interrogate.
What a lender is likely to advance, under what terms, against what cash flow. Where the structure works, and where it breaks.
What this looks like
in practice.
Three case studies. Different buyers, different deal types, same starting point.
A first-time buyer was negotiating on a professional services firm with reported EBITDA of ยฃ620,000. The broker pack presented a clean picture: growing revenue, healthy margins, motivated seller.
When we normalised the earnings โ correcting the owner's below-market salary, removing a one-off contract that inflated the top line, and adjusting for working capital drag the buyer hadn't modelled โ defensible EBITDA came back at ยฃ435,000.
That's a ยฃ925,000 difference in valuation on a 5ร multiple. The buyer didn't walk away. They renegotiated at a price the business could actually support โ and structured the deal so it was fundable from day one.
A trade buyer needed board approval to acquire a competitor in the industrial services sector. The internal team had built a model, but it relied on the seller's management accounts without independent verification. The board asked three questions the model couldn't answer: "What are the real maintainable earnings?" "What will a lender actually fund against this?" "What happens if revenue dips 15% post-completion?"
We rebuilt the model with normalised EBITDA, lender-realistic debt service coverage, and a downside scenario that showed the cash flow floor.
A buyer had agreed terms on a distribution business and approached their bank for acquisition finance. The bank declined. Not because the business was bad, but because the buyer's initial structure didn't work: too much senior debt against volatile monthly cash flows, and no vendor loan to bridge the gap.
We modelled three alternative structures โ adjusting the vendor loan component, extending the earn-out period, and showing the bank a revised debt service profile that accounted for seasonal working capital.
The reports
we produce.
For buyers who need to know what the target is actually worth โ not what the broker pack implies.
What You'll See- Normalised earnings with every adjustment made visible
- A defensible valuation range with explicit assumptions
- What price the business supports, and where the number starts to stretch
Premium Upgrade available on both options. Receive the unlocked Excel model โ full access to assumptions, formulas, and scenario inputs so you or your team can run your own sensitivities. Fee confirmed on discovery call.
Everything in Option A, plus the funding picture and the deal structure you'll need to make it work.
What You'll See- Full independent valuation (as Option A)
- Lender-realistic debt capacity based on cash flow, not hope
- Debt service coverage under base case and downside scenarios
- Deal structure scenarios: debt/equity splits, deferred consideration, bank borrowing capacity, interest rate forecasts for four years
- What structure you can propose to a seller โ and what a lender is likely to support
Premium Upgrade available on both options. Receive the unlocked Excel model โ full access to assumptions, formulas, and scenario inputs so you or your team can run your own sensitivities. Fee confirmed on discovery call.
Fixed fee.
No surprises.
Know what the business is worth โ with a report built to withstand scrutiny.
- Full independent valuation memorandum
- Multi-method approach (DCF, comps, asset-based)
- Board-ready PDF report
- Discovery call to confirm scope
Know what it's worth โ and whether the deal structure and funding stack up.
- Funding feasibility analysis
- Deal structure assessment
- Debt capacity and leverage modelling
- Acquisition readiness summary
Full working financial model behind your valuation โ unlocked, editable, yours to keep. Available on both options. Additional fee confirmed on the discovery call.
Some deals don't fit a standard tier. Group accounts, complex covenants, seasonal working capital builds, synergy modelling โ we scope these individually so you get the rigour you need. Raise it on the discovery call.
From discovery call
to delivered report.
15โ20 minutes. NDA if needed. You tell me what decision you're trying to make โ price, fundability, or both. If it's a fit, we lock the engagement and scope.
No obligation ยท No costYou receive a tight document list. You send what you already have โ accounts, broker pack, management numbers, deal outline. The clock starts when payment is received and all required documents are in.
Clock starts hereYour option determines the depth. Both are built to the same investment bank standard.
Option A โ Business Valuation Report: We normalise earnings, correct the add-backs, and build a defensible valuation range with every assumption made explicit.
Option B โ Acquisition Feasibility Report: Full valuation, plus lender-realistic debt capacity, stress-tested cash flow, and deal structure scenarios showing debt/equity splits, deferred consideration, and four-year interest rate forecasts.
Your memorandum, a self-explanatory written report, and a locked Excel model with clear assumptions, sensitivities, and decision points. Everything you need to move forward.
Independence
matters.
If you work in corporate finance, you could build this model yourself. Some buyers do. The issue is rarely capability. It's two things: time and objectivity.
Mid-deal, you don't have two weeks to build a bank-grade model from scratch. And when you're invested in an outcome โ financially, emotionally, or both โ you tend to model the result you want rather than the result the cash flow supports. That's not a failing. It's human. An independent model removes that risk.
If you're new to acquisitions, the value is simpler: you get a professional-grade model and report without having to learn deal modelling under live conditions.
This is what I do full-time. I'm a practising M&A analyst. I own my own boutique advisory firm. I build these models for real deals โ not as a side service and not from a template. My only interest is giving you the accurate picture โ not closing the deal, not earning a commission, and not telling you what you want to hear.
Corporate Finance Institute
ยฃ2m โ ยฃ250m enterprise value
Full-time practising M&A analyst
Your first acquisition deserves an independent view. You've found something worth pursuing, and you need an independent view of the valuation and fundability before you commit serious capital and time.
You know what a proper model looks like, but you don't have the bandwidth to build one from scratch mid-deal. You need it done independently, done properly, and done fast.
You need board-ready numbers, a credible risk picture, and a model your finance director can interrogate. Not a spreadsheet someone built on a Sunday afternoon.
Bidding on a UK SME where cash flow, lender logic, and deal structure decide whether the transaction completes or collapses.
Questions buyers ask
before they engage.
Your accountant prepares accounts. This is deal modelling โ normalising earnings, stress-testing lender logic, modelling debt service coverage, and testing deal structure for bankability. Different skill set, different output. Most accountants will tell you the same thing. The ones who will attempt it typically charge significantly more (hourly, open-ended, weeks not days) and aren't modelling live deals every week. We are. This is all we do, and we deliver in 2 working days at a fixed fee.
Eventually. Usually after you've invested weeks of time and professional fees getting to credit stage. This tells you earlier โ with your own independent numbers โ so you don't build momentum on a deal the bank won't back. Because we're working on live transactions continuously, we know what funders are currently looking for, what debt service coverage ratios they're applying, and where credit appetite sits right now โ not six months ago.
The report will tell you what can be modelled reliably, what can't, and what additional information would change the picture. The model makes uncertainty visible rather than hidden. If there are gaps, you'll know exactly what they are and what they mean.
We quote complex deals separately. Raise it on the discovery call and we'll scope it based on the actual structure. No surprises.
Covered in the engagement terms. Straightforward process, fast turnaround.
