Acquisition Finance

Acquisition lending is not standard business banking

Most lenders treat business acquisitions as high-risk by default, and many deal structures genuinely are, because they're not well thought through. The difference between a transaction that funds and one that doesn't is usually the quality of the analysis and the structure of the facility.

We come into acquisitions early, often before the heads of agreement, because the deal structure and the funding structure need to be designed together, not retrofitted to each other once terms are already agreed.

What we can help with

• Outright business purchases, established businesses with trading history
• Management buyouts (MBO) and partner buyouts
• Earn-in and deferred consideration structures
• Franchise acquisitions
• Professional practice acquisitions (medical, dental, legal, accounting)
• Partial stake acquisitions and equity participation
• Succession finance and exit planning for outgoing owners and incoming parties
• Founder exit and management buyout funding

We understand the journey you're on

Acquiring a business, buying out a partner or stepping into a succession is one of the most significant decisions a person makes. The stakes are personal as much as they are financial, and the path from intent to settlement is rarely straightforward.

We've been through this process with enough clients to understand what it actually feels like from where you're standing. Our role is to make sure you have the information, the context and the options to make decisions with confidence. The credit landscape, the lender selection, the structure of the facility: we guide you through all of it so that every decision you make is an informed one. What we need from you is clarity on where you're going and why. From there, we build the case together.

Goodwill and intangibles

Many acquisitions involve significant goodwill, which is the amount you're paying above the tangible asset value of the business. Most banks have caps on how much goodwill they'll lend against. We know these limits and can identify early whether non-bank or specialist lenders need to be part of the structure.

Succession and exit planning

Every business owner exits eventually. The question is whether that exit is structured to maximise the value they've spent years building, and whether the incoming party has the funding in place to step in on terms that set them up to succeed rather than just survive.

This is one of the most underserviced areas in commercial finance. The outgoing owner's advisers are typically focused on tax and legal outcomes. The incoming party is often navigating the process for the first time with little understanding of what lenders will and won't fund. We work across both sides of these transactions, helping outgoing owners structure exits that preserve value and helping incoming parties access the finance they need on terms that actually work for the business going forward.