A company-specific view of how acquisition could increase growth, strengthen position, and build exit value.
The Expansion Briefing is a focused, company-specific acquisition diagnostic for UK founder-led businesses. After one initial conversation, we prepare a view of your market, your current position, and the acquisition routes that may be worth pursuing, before you commit time, capital, or advisory fees.
Book Your Briefing30-minute conversation. Company-specific briefing prepared afterwards. No obligation.
- Whether acquisition is a credible growth route for your business
- Where the strongest acquisition logic may sit
- Which types of targets would actually make strategic sense
- What risks or readiness gaps need to be addressed before moving
- Whether the right next step is to pause, prepare, originate, or proceed
Six sections. All specific to your business.
Every briefing is prepared fresh for the company we are speaking with. These are the sections it typically covers.
If this is the kind of clarity you need, book the initial conversation.
Book Your BriefingThe briefing is selective.
Here is who it works best for.
We keep the number of briefings manageable to make sure each one is genuinely prepared, not templated. Understanding whether there is a fit before booking saves everyone's time.
- You run a UK founder-led or owner-managed business
- You are typically between £5m and £50m turnover
- You believe acquisition could accelerate growth or improve eventual exit value
- You have looked at opportunities but lack a clear acquisition thesis or process
- You want to see the quality of thinking before committing to paid advisory work
- You want a brokered list of businesses currently for sale
- You are looking to buy something cheap without strategic logic
- You are very early stage or not yet commercially established
- You are not willing to discuss your business, market, and ambition openly
- You are looking for curiosity, not a serious assessment of whether acquisition should become part of your growth strategy
The briefing gives you a decision-making view, not a generic view of M&A.
- A clearer acquisition thesis — what to buy, why, and what to avoid
- Better target criteria — not a list, but a filter
- A view on whether acquisition deserves serious attention now
- A sharper understanding of your readiness gaps and the risks to address
- A clear decision: pause, prepare, originate, or proceed
"One founder came in with a broad ambition to acquire in their sector. The briefing narrowed the opportunity into three credible target profiles, highlighted the internal readiness gaps that needed to be addressed first, and clarified that the right next step was preparation before origination, not an immediate search."
Anonymised. Details changed to protect confidentiality.
Senior-led. No junior handoffs.
Your initial conversation and briefing are prepared by Mike Ferguson, founder of Acquisitiv. Mike has 17 years' experience across finance, M&A advisory, corporate environments, turnaround, and operating roles, including Morgan Stanley, Capita, and senior strategic project work across multiple sectors.
Commercial judgement formed in real businesses, not just deal rooms. The briefing reflects the same quality of thinking you would expect in a paid engagement, because that is the point. You should be able to see how we work before deciding whether to go further.
- Buy-side only. We never represent the seller. No split loyalties.
- No completion-fee pressure. If the deal is wrong, we will tell you, even if it costs us the work.
- You keep the briefing regardless of what you decide next. No obligation to continue.
Book the conversation.
We'll prepare the briefing.
The first conversation is 30 minutes. We use it to understand your business, your market, your ambition, and your constraints. After that, we prepare a company-specific briefing and send it to you. You keep it regardless of what you decide next.
The briefing is complimentary for selected founder-led businesses. There is no obligation to continue, and the initial conversation is used to understand the business properly, not to run through a pitch deck.