Transaction Advisory

Management Consulting

Background

Following a personal recommendation, the CEO of an Australian owned professional services firm invited Grosvenor Clive & Stokes to provide assistance in the development and expansion of its UK consulting business.

Client’s Need

The Board had given the CEO the mandate to pursue an acquisition if the right firm could be identified.

Grosvenor Clive & Stokes’ Service

Our research of the UK market identified a small number of consulting firms that could potentially represent a strategic fit with our client’s existing business. Initial approaches to the CEO’s/owner’s of these firms resulted in two possible opportunities following which it was apparent that one firm (the ‘target firm’) was potentially an excellent fit and had an ambitious CEO/owner (‘the principal’) who was open to exploring a transaction.

Following discussions with the principal, we produced a ‘company profile’ document, which incorporated information on the target firm’s service offerings and market positioning and initial data on staff numbers, revenues, EBIT etc. This was presented to our client.

The initial meetings between our client and the principal were very positive and it was apparent that there was both a positive culture fit and a business fit. On the basis of this, a preliminary Heads of Agreement was drawn up and signed by both parties.

Grosvenor Clive & Stokes facilitated the Due Diligence phase, which incorporated a financial and operational review of the target firm and by way of reciprocation our client providing similar data to the principal. The DD confirmed that the two businesses were as they had been presented and, furthermore, the combination of our client’s corporate infrastructure and resources and the target firm’s dynamic management team and proven business model should result in longer-term value creation for all parties and the establishment over the medium term of a £100+ million consulting services firm.

The Outcome

We presented a final offer with our client to the principal which provided the basis for the Sale & Purchase Agreement. This transaction ran in parallel with our client disposing of another business and raising additional funds, so the deal was completed approximately fourteen months after we carried out our initial market research.

• Deep knowledge of the European management consulting and professional services market and an extensive, business leader contact base within it.
• An experienced in-house research team to drive the identification of target companies.
• Transaction advice as a natural extension to our extensive experience in facilitating team moves.
• Advice that focuses on the people, cultural, business, and strategic fit of the merger or acquisition, and which is independent of the funding or corporate finance aspects of transactions.

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