Corporate Finance at HB&O

What is corporate Finance? 

Corporate Finance is a catch all term, which covers the major events in a business lifecycle such as sales, acquisitions, management buy-outs and mergers.

Services that fall within this category cover all aspects of these processes, from valuations, business appraisals and price negotiations, right the way through to completion, with due diligence and legal document support.

How important is it to have specialist advice? 

For us, it’s essential. These transactions often involve a number of complex steps and it’s important to ensure that deals are properly structured and managed, with no unwanted surprises. 

There are a lot of firms out there that offer corporate finance advice, but many have no real experience as the industry isn’t regulated. Often we find that business owners approach national advisors for support with a business transaction, who either look to charge a disproportionate level of cost or won’t support a business of their size.

A lack of advice can result in much larger ramifications, such as undervaluing or overpaying, as well as significant tax consequences and potential exposure to future legal claims.

Whilst obtaining advice can be a costly exercise, it often warrants the ability to maximise the transaction and safeguard your future plans. 

What makes Corporate Finance at HB&O different? 

A number of years ago, we identified a need for local corporate finance expertise and have been busy from day one.  We specialise in the smaller end of the owner-managed business sector, typically where the sales price is £5 million or less, with our primary objective being to get the best deal for our clients.

We have extensive specialist experience in handling these sorts of transactions and supporting clients with the entire process, from start to finish. We work closely with colleagues across HB&O from the various specialisms, particularly our tax and financial services teams. This means we are able to offer clients a full service, whether that’s considering the personal tax implications of a proposed deal or providing advice on how to invest the sales proceeds. 

We charge a transaction fee rather than taking a percentage of the sale price, charging as we go along and remaining completely transparent regarding our costs. This approach keeps us much more independent, meaning we will never suggest that clients take a bad deal in order to optimise our fees. We also don’t tie clients into exclusive contracts – for instance if we create a sales prospectus, but the client changes their mind for whatever reason, we won’t lock them into future commitments.  

The HB&O Corporate Finance team ensure each step of the process is carefully managed in a holistic, user-friendly and professional manner, to ensure success. We are very accessible – if clients need to chat, we are here. 

If you would like to find out more about Corporate Finance, our team would love to meet you for an informal, complementary chat to learn more about how we can help you. 

Send us an email at [email protected] or phone 02476 306029 and we’ll be in touch!