Jamie Austin
Deal Advisory Partner, Head of Global Private Equity, National Head of Private Equity and Co-head of Life Sciences
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?
For more information on our Growth Advisory team 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.
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.
