Fundraising is always challenging. Regardless of what stage your business is at or the type of capital, debt or equity you are looking for, we will guide and advise you through the funding process. Our extensive experience and funding expertise help us to understand your business needs and find the right funding solution. Whether that solution is Venture Capital, Private Equity, Debt or an IPO will depend on your business and your ambitions for it. We aim to build a long-lasting relationship with you and your management team so that we can support your business’ journey or guide you to your next venture.

Growth Advisory

Our Growth Advisory team specialise in supporting business that are looking for investment to back expansion and growth. With years of experience as both advisors and investors of growth businesses, the team are uniquely positioned to support you and will use their ‘investor lens’ to:

Help you position your business, so it has the best chance of attracting funders
Help develop the right raise strategy that solves ‘debt or equity’, ‘tranching (phased investment)’ and valuation issues
Prepare your business for as smooth a deal process as possible
Identify and connect you to the most appropriate potential investors
Negotiate the best possible commercial terms with investors

In Growth Advisory, we understand how investors think. That’s because our team contains ex-investors. It is therefore in our make-up to know the challenges you’ll be faced with and prepare you for the hurdles you’ll have to overcome during the process.

What type of business are you and what are you looking for support with?

Your business will have more than £750k+ of annualised revenue and you are looking for investment in excess of £2M.

Are you working out how to grow your business to the next level? Do you have ambitions to grow fast and turn your initial successes into something more professional and profitable? You will be working out how scalable your model is and where and how to expand. You may also be considering the different options for funding of your plans.

Would you feel more confident if you had a growth specialist by your side to develop your business’s growth story to get the right investment from the right investors? An advisor who understands the demands and priorities of investors because they have been one.

The right adviser will help you position your business for rapid as well as sustainable growth. They will guide you through the arduous and critical process of securing funding. They should be focused on maximising the opportunity to achieve your ambitions.

Your business has £500k+ of annualised Net Profit and you are looking for investment in excess of £3m+.

You are ready to maximise and realise the value of your business. Is now the right time to capitalise on your solid track record and proven business model? Successfully implementing a strategic plan for growth will create the kind of value that you have been aiming for. It might a big first step towards a lucrative exit.

Achieving the rewards you have worked hard for will be easier with the right team of advisors at your side. The right advisors will see where value lies in your business and help you to maximise the value and the growth potential so that you can achieve your goals, whatever they may be.

Are we the right advisor for you? The best way to answer that question is to simply have a chat with us. Please reach out and have a conversation with one of the team to find out what we are like to work with and how we can help you achieve the outcomes you want.

For more information on our Growth Advisory team download our brochure.

Download our brochure

Debt Advisory

The Debt Advisory team specialise in advising companies looking to raise funds through debt. We have extensive relationships with the traditional and alternative lending community which means we ensure that you can maximise all potential funding options. We apply our extensive knowledge, experience and relationships to meet your requirements.

We also offer a comprehensive service to our private equity clients, including:

Sell-side Debt Staples to support sell-side M&A mandates
Buy-side debt raises to support a new M&A investment alongside M&A
Dividend recaps
Raising debt for acquisitions or to support a buy and build strategy
Covenant amendment processes, resets
ABL/cash flow facilities to refinance and fund working capital

Our approach includes:

Going to the right lenders to find best sources of liquidity and the best terms from the market
Maximising competitive tension
Flexible facilities: how to win add backs to EBITDA through exceptional items, group initiatives and pre-agreed synergies
De-risking a buy and build through pre-agreed committed or accordion facilities
Increasing leverage as the business scales
Preserving headroom and flexibility via automatic re-set of covenants after acquisitions

Private Equity

Private Equity (PE) should always be considered as a funding option when making decisions on business opportunities and challenges facing your business. Whether it is the first time you have used PE or you are a PE veteran, it can be a transformative and rewarding experience. The challenge is to find the right type of investor or partner for your business - whether through PE or not - and the key individuals who will help you achieve positive results.

Private Equity in the UK today

There are well over a thousand Private Equity funds in the UK alone. They are advised by many hundreds of Private Equity funds or firms, that are often also PE investors in their own right. Each PE fund looks to be distinct with its own investment strategy, culture and specialist areas of expertise such as a particular sector or type of company. If that isn’t enough choice, there are Venture Capital funds and a myriad of other financial sponsorship models with distinct approaches to risk and reward.

Making Private Equity work for you

PE can be a fantastic experience that drives ambitious businesses to transform and grow fast. The potential rewards for management and investors alike are huge. The outcome is often a very successful, and valuable business. PE investors have a simple definition of success; they typically aim to double the value of their investment in three years or treble it in five years. There are two simple actions that will improve your chances of having a positive and, above all, a rewarding experience of PE. The BDO Private Equity group can help you with both.

What does success look like for you and your business?
What do you want your business to look like?
What is your driving ambition; is a legacy important or is money a key motivator?
What do you want your future role to be?
What will happen to the other people who work for the business?

With a clear definition of success, it becomes much easier to navigate your way through the vast number of PE funds and firms to find the right partner whose goals, specialism and culture align with your vision.

You must prepare your business so that it is in the best possible shape for an investment, looking at every aspect of the business for gains in efficiency. You will need to prepare for a step change in financial reporting to keep investors satisfied. We would also advise you to look at a ‘Due Diligence’ questionnaire so you understand the sheer volume of information you will be asked to produce for potential investors as part of making a deal.

Download our What is Private Equity Guide

Our Supporting the Private Equity journey document highlights matters which may arise from your initial consideration of investment options to an exit at the end of a PE investment cycle and how we can help.

Download Supporting the PE journey