Transaction services | due diligence

Our Transaction Services team provides due diligence services and valuable insights to assist you in making the right business decisions when completing a transaction such as a merger or acquisition (M&A), listing or delisting on the market, going private or raising capital. No two transactions are the same, so even if you are an experienced leadership team, getting the right advice to ensure that you are fully prepared for your deal will not only help you manage risks, but protect and even maximise value.

We will work closely with you and your management team to support your business at any stage of your deal’s process, from initial exploratory searches through post-transaction completion phase. Other deal related services we offer include Private Equity advice, M&A structuring, valuations, employee incentivisation, technology risk assessments, transaction structuring, and integration and operational performance advice.

Market leaders in due diligence, we are recognised for our active expertise in accounting league tables such as Mergermarket, Experian and Factset. We have also won awards nationally and regionally for our services in private equity and remain the number one provider for IPO listings on the London Stock Exchange. Consistently, our clients choose to work with us because of our extensive sector knowledge and having previously used our services.

See our deals

What is due diligence

It is the detailed investigation and analysis of all relevant data of the company or asset involved in a transaction, whether as an acquisition, investment, equity fundraise or merger. This helps to build an understanding and accuracy of the associated key value drivers. This could relate to products, financials, geographies, operations, social or governance or the infrastructure. From this financially focused analysis, we will help you identify financial risks and opportunities to inform decisions relating to your transaction.

We specialise in the mid-market space, but our clients include corporate entities of all sizes as well as financial investors, private equity funds and banking institutions.

How long does due diligence take?

Generally, due diligence can take between four and six weeks if you’re buying or selling a business. This will vary depending on the business issue you are addressing, where in the deal process your due diligence is taking place and how large or complex your transaction is.

Due diligence and supporting services

There are many types of due diligence and supporting services that are generally undertaken as part of a larger project such as the buying or selling of a business or in raising funds.

Below is a list of the due diligence services you and your business can commission from our expert team. You can combine any due diligence and supporting services to help achieve your desired business outcomes.

We identify and test underlying earnings robustness and future profitability and raise any red flags that may be cause for concern. Our understanding and experience of markets, sectors and trends, combined with analytics of the business’s cashflow, operations and earnings will guide your decisions.

We undertake a comprehensive analysis of the soundness of a business’s operations; its cashflow, processes, functions and overall performance. This will demonstrate where its strengths can be maximised and how weaknesses can be improved or optimised to increase the value of the company.

We conduct a review of all tax-related tasks and strategies to ascertain if there are any concerns or weaknesses that may impact your transaction. Sellers will be able to create added value with a structured tax strategy, while buyers will be able to create value by restructuring tax matters. Find out more about our services.

As sector experts we apply our industry expertise to help assess the commercial health of a business. Commercial due diligence will look to provide buyers and sellers a thorough understanding of the market and competitor landscape a business operates in. We will dive deep into understanding how the business makes its money and how differentiated this is against its peer set. With the knowledge of the market, competitive context and business proposition we will then opine on the growth plan of the business, highlighting areas of potential challenge and opportunity.

Our IT due diligence team will undertake a deep review of your business technology and applications, systems infrastructure, and process to determine and create added investment value. This is sometimes also called Digital Due diligence (DDD)

We can assist you in ensuring the smooth transition and integration of your acquired business by identifying any risks of legal and financial liabilities associated to your transaction. After the deal has been completed, we review and verify the accuracy and completeness of information related to your transaction. This aim of this type of due diligence is to ensure that all representations, warranties, and agreements made during your transaction have been fulfilled.

Additional Advisory services

Due diligence can require the involvement of other advisory service. These can be needed during or after a transaction. Examples might include follow-up activities such as the valuation of a business, after-sales support and warranty claims services. These services are not strictly due diligence but due diligence cannot be effective without them.

Our specialist M&A Forensic Services team can help you to ensure the financial terms of the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) are as expected, avoid unnecessary and costly disputes and assist in optimising your position as either a buyer or seller, including any appropriate remedies.

Our Valuation team works closely with the deal advisory team providing specialist input and advice. This ability to call upon a vast network of professionals with extensive technical valuation knowledge and in-depth industry experience means that we can deliver independent and well supported solutions to address the most complex needs of our clients.

Common valuation advisory services in such contexts include:

Pre and post deal purchase price allocations
Valuation of management incentives
Business valuations / Independent valuation of a target
Transaction and market multiples benchmarking
Fairness opinions
Section 593 valuations

Our teams will facilitate the acquisition process of your target company, acting as the conduit between the buyer and your business and providing support of document analysis and materials.

This service can be used in the defence or support of an acquisition which may be hostile or aggressive – or in anticipation of one. In the case of bid defence situations, we work with you and your teams to ensure a favourable market value for your company.

Talk to us