Our services

Use us where the acquisition risk sits.

Each service is standalone. Use one or combine all four depending on where you need support. Every engagement is scoped in writing before work begins.

Four services · Any combination · One focus: the right acquisition

Before the market
01
Acquisition Strategy
Fixed Fee
Written Acquisition Strategy DocumentThesis, target criteria, walk-away rules, and board alignment – in writing, before the market is approached.
Defined origination planClear route to market – which channels, which sectors, which criteria, in which sequence.
Define what good looks like before you approach a single target.
Most failed acquisitions trace back to a thesis that was never properly defined. The wrong criteria. Board alignment assumed rather than tested. No clear definition of what to walk away from. Buyers pursue what is available rather than what is right – not because they lack discipline, but because nobody defined the discipline before the search began. We fix that before it becomes expensive. Working with your leadership team, we document your acquisition thesis, sharpen your target criteria, establish walk-away rules, and confirm board alignment before a single approach is made. The output is a Written Acquisition Strategy Document – your acquisition blueprint. It replaces informal aspiration with written intent. It tells you what to pursue, what to avoid, and when to stop.
Most failed acquisitions trace back to a poorly defined thesis. We fix that before it becomes expensive.
Before the buyer sees targets
02
Target Origination
Ongoing Engagement · Success Fee on Completion
Opportunity Summary for every introductionEvery target introduced includes a written assessment of strategic fit, financial profile, and management dynamics – before it reaches your leadership team.
Monthly pipeline reportTargets approached, responses received, reasons for qualification or rejection. You always know exactly what has been done.
24-month success fee tailApplied only where our introduction leads to completion. We stand behind our introductions.
We find the right targets. Not the available ones.
Every broker sends you the same recycled deal flow at auction prices. Businesses that have been shopped to twenty buyers, with valuations inflated by the process and management teams exhausted by the scrutiny. By the time a target reaches you through a broker, you have already lost the advantages that make an acquisition worth doing. We go off-market. Proprietary outreach to businesses that fit your thesis specifically – businesses not yet thinking about selling, approached at the point where you can shape the conversation rather than compete for it. We research, approach, qualify, and produce a written Opportunity Summary for every introduction. Nothing reaches your leadership team until it has been assessed against your criteria. You meet only businesses worth your time. The engagement ends at introduction plus Opportunity Summary delivery. If you proceed, the Deal Execution service begins.
We stop charging for Origination when Execution begins. Retainers do not overlap.
Before the deal gets emotional
03
Deal Execution
Ongoing Engagement · Success Fee on Completion
Heads of terms – drafted and negotiatedWe draft the HoT ourselves, not just advise on them. That means we control the structure and protect your position at the most critical document before legals take over.
Due diligence coordinationFinancial, commercial, and legal DD coordinated and project-managed. Key issues surfaced and assessed, not rationalised away under deal pressure.
Signed completionLegal process management, completion mechanics, and final close. Weekly senior involvement throughout.
We run the deal from first conversation to signed completion.
The moment a buyer gets emotionally committed to a deal, the dynamic changes. Diligence narrows. Red flags get rationalised. Advisers focused on completion stop asking the questions that most need asking. We are structured to prevent that. Our fee structure means we are not desperate to close. Our operational background – having been inside businesses post-acquisition trying to make them work – means we know what the problems look like before they appear in the numbers. We run valuation analysis, offer structuring, heads of terms drafting and negotiation, due diligence coordination, legal process management, and completion. We draft the heads of terms ourselves – not just advise on them. That matters. The HoT sets the parameters for everything that follows. Weekly senior involvement throughout. No handoffs. Every critical moment covered by a senior Acquisitiv adviser.
Our operational background means we assess more than the numbers. We look at management fit, culture, and whether value holds after close.
Before value leaks
04
90-Day Integration
Fixed Fee
Day One readiness planDeveloped four weeks before close. Day One is planned in advance – not improvised after the ink is dry.
Weekly operating reviews90 days of weekly structured reviews covering performance tracking, management alignment, and issue resolution.
Written 90-day reportPerformance baseline versus IC case, management assessment, and recommended next steps at the 90-day mark.
The 90 days that determine whether the acquisition actually works.
Most advisers are gone by the time the ink is dry. Integration planning starts too late. The operating plan is not ready for Day One. Culture clash is addressed after the fact rather than before close. These are not edge cases – they are the cause of 27% of all acquisition failures. We stay. Integration planning begins four weeks before close – not after. Day One is planned in advance. For 90 days post-close we provide weekly operating reviews, management alignment sessions, performance baseline tracking against the IC case, and a written 90-day report. This is where most acquisitions actually fail or succeed. It is also where our operational background – having been inside businesses post-acquisition trying to make them work – is most directly relevant to Acquisitiv's approach. We have seen what happens when integration is treated as an afterthought. We are built to prevent it.
The deal is not done when the ink is dry. This is where most of the value is won or lost.
How we engage

Our engagement structure is designed to keep the advice honest.

A pure success-fee model rewards completion. Charging only on completion creates an incentive to close – not to challenge. We structure our fees to cover both time and outcome – deliberately.

Time-based fee
Covers senior time throughout the engagement and keeps the advice independent. We are paid regardless of outcome, which means our counsel stays focused on the right result – not just completion.
Success fee
Rewards completion where the right deal is completed. Applied only on Origination and Execution mandates. The success fee aligns our outcome with yours – without replacing the honest counsel the retainer funds.
Walk-away discipline
If the target is wrong, we say so – even when completion would pay us more. That is not a marketing line. It is the structural reality of how we charge. Our fee structure means we have no financial incentive to push a bad deal over the line.
The point is not to close a deal.
The point is to close the right deal.
Common questions

Frequently asked questions about working with Acquisitiv.

What does a buy-side M&A adviser do?
A buy-side M&A adviser works exclusively for the acquiring company – not the seller. They help define the acquisition thesis, identify and approach suitable targets, run the deal process including valuation and negotiation, and in some cases support post-acquisition integration. Unlike sell-side brokers, a buy-side adviser's sole obligation is to the buyer.
How much does Acquisitiv charge?
Acquisitiv uses a time-based fee plus success fee model. Acquisition Strategy and 90-Day Integration are fixed-fee projects. Target Origination is Fees are agreed in writing before work begins. Engagement structure and commercial terms are discussed on the Acquisition Readiness Call.
What is the minimum deal size Acquisitiv works on?
Acquisitiv works on acquisitions with a minimum enterprise value of £2 million. There is no upper limit. The service model is designed for UK mid-market deals across all sectors.
Do you work on sell-side mandates?
No. Acquisitiv works exclusively on the buy side. This is a deliberate structural choice – acting on both sides of the market creates conflicts of interest that compromise the quality of advice a buyer receives.
Can I use just one service or do I need to use all four?
Each of the four services is available as a standalone engagement. You do not need to use all four. Acquisitiv is structured this way deliberately – so you pay only for support at the stage where the risk actually sits. Many clients begin with an Acquisition Readiness Review, then move into the service or combination that fits their situation.

Ready to start before the market is approached?

Book an Acquisition Readiness Call. 45 minutes. No pitch. No deck. A direct conversation to establish whether there is a genuine fit between what you need and what we do.

Book an Acquisition Readiness Call