Advising aspirational entrepreneurs & ambitious business owners
DC Consulting offers a professional and tailored approach to assisting aspirational entrepreneurs and ambitious business owners to achieve their commercialisation goals.
We believe that we are ideally placed to support companies with strong potential for significant growth. Our track record in the last few years has seen us involved in a variety of different transactions spanning all sectors and is evidenced by the level of transactions completed.
An overview of the DC Consulting service offering is as follows:
As part of our ethos of advising aspirational entrepreneurs and ambitious business owners, we have developed formidable experience in helping grow and run businesses across all sectors and therefore are acutely aware of the challenges of running your own business and the need to continually make timely informed strategic decisions.
There are times in every businesses life when expert external advice (e.g. our CFO Service) can bring enormous additional value: no business stands still and change can bring extra pressures that a team like ours is able to share.
This role will provide the Executive Team with a sounding board for finance-related matters at strategic level and will provide an objective viewpoint in considering most business-wide related issues. This would be a two-way relationship, which would enable us to get closer to the important issues affecting the business and enable a consistent and valuable discussion thereby assisting strategy setting and decision-making.
As part of this role, we would advise on areas such as corporate governance and financial best-practice appropriate for a company of your size and scale and advise on appropriate KPI’s which can be used to benchmark and monitor performance. In our experience, this can add significant value to any future fund-raising proposal or exit discussion with potential purchasers of the business.
With our appointment to your management team, you will benefit from not only an experienced chartered accountant but also a commercially focused business advisor, who is supported by a team and network of experienced individuals, allowing us to deliver results, all in an affordable cost effective package for SME’s. We are confident that our engagement will deliver numerous benefits including:
o Enable robust financial reporting, thereby delivering confidence to the company’s stakeholders (e.g. Board, Shareholders, Bank, other lenders)
o Underpinned with KPI’s to benchmark and monitor performance, we will assist you to grow your business and increase your profits, thereby ensuring ongoing value creation
o Early identification of cashflow problems, understanding the underlying causes and therefore implementing the most appropriate solution e.g. additional funding or improved credit control
o Streamline processes and re-gain control, thereby providing necessary peace of mind
o Plan for the future, ensuring the correct resources and finance is in place to deliver on your future ambitions (e.g. growth, acquisition or exit)
o Help with important decisions – and a sounding board
Ultimately our desire is to be an integral part of your management team, providing an objective viewpoint in considering most business-wide related issues whilst enabling a consistent approach to strategy setting and decision-making.
Our hands-on approach to all corporate transactions provides us with the in-depth knowledge to deliver success for every client, with a creative range of alternative structures and strategies, we can then go on to complete the deal in the best possible timescale. To date, we have built up considerable specialist experience in the area of early stage equity investment and entrepreneurial finance and have completed a myriad of corporate finance transactions.
Each step of the way, the DC Consulting team is on-side, providing the depth and level of input you need to make the right decisions. Clients appreciate our detailed understanding of their business model, ensuring the funding approach is meticulously appraised and prepared.
Our team offers a full range of Corporate Finance Services inclusive of:
Our tax specialists offer a tailored solution for both corporate and personal tax scenarios, with emphasis on transactional issues such as early stage companies, MBO’s and tax efficient investment opportunities.
From a corporate perspective, our team has built up significant experience in tax-efficient structuring of companies and groups and dealing with taxation issues arising from transactions. In addition, our team regularly carry out taxation due diligence on company acquisitions.
In recent years, we have also placed particular emphasis on advising High Net Worth individuals seeking to shelter gains or mitigate higher rate tax. Our team has considerable experience of dealing with HM Revenue & Customs in respect of successful Enterprise Investment Scheme and in advising on the creation of Enterprise Management Incentive Share Option Scheme.
DC Consulting works successfully with clients to establish the tax implications surrounding issues and provides a range of appropriate solutions.
Business Planning
The business planning process is the first crucial step in fund raising: the business plan will be the starting point for any potential funder. Therefore, DC Consulting works with each client to ensure that their business plan and financial projections are robust and designed to meet all necessary requirements for potential founders.
We believe a truly effective business plan is achieved by completing a number of critical steps:
- Careful evaluation and examination of the project
- Completion of due diligence on the business model
- Thorough analysis of financial projections
Only when this work is completed can a well-founded business plan be completed, and an accurate valuation of the business made. At that point we work with each client to develop an optimal funding model, designed to deliver what the business, its directors and its funders need.
Along the way we also provide advice on tax structure where this is applicable, and review the potential Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) position, making an advance application for EIS clearance if necessary.
It’s a matter of pride to us that this whole process is completed in a way that makes sense to our clients and puts them in the strongest position possible to move their business forward.
Fund Raising
Our corporate finance service includes project management of the entire investment process on behalf of each client. For most of our clients, the task of raising funds is a huge step into the unknown: it’s our job at DC Consulting to steer you through and make the process as smooth and effective as possible.
Putting a sound business plan together is step one. Once that is completed, we will use our expertise and contacts to identify the best-fit investors for your business and co-ordinate the full process.
We’ll establish contact with potential investors and take them through the business plan, organising investor presentations with those who express an interest. Our track record to date is one of quickly identifying and opening doors to the investors who want to talk – saving everyone time and increasing the opportunities for successful deals. Clients rely on us as robust and creative negotiators when it comes to valuations, ensuring alternative strategies to increase valuation are pursued.
As well as negotiating on your behalf with the investor, we’ll co-ordinate the due diligence process and – once agreement is reached – we can also provide additional input, when required, with the legal process of preparing and negotiating the terms of the Investment Agreement.
It all adds up to a service that is second to none: professional and personal, and designed for success.
Acquisitions
When considering any acquisition or disposal activity, whether MBO, MBI or business disposal, you need to have confidence that your advisers not only have extensive experience of similar transactions, but that they are also committed to achieving the results you require.
Although these types of transactions have similarities, in our experience each one is different, with differing pressure points which, in turn, can be crucial to a successful deal.
The Corporate Finance team at DC Consulting has a breadth of experience of these types of transactions. They utilise their expertise to ensure that key points are identified at an early stage and that the solution is in line with your original goals.
Key considerations include:
- What is the optimal structure for the deal i.e. will it be a sale/purchase of the shares of the company or just the trade and assets?
- What are the tax consequences of the proposed structure?
- What level of financial and taxation due diligence is required for this type of deal?
- How will the proposed deal be funded and does the funding package provide a sufficient level of working capital for the business going forward?
- Are the proposed levels of gearing realistic?
- When is the optimal time for the sale to commence and can you groom the business to improve the ultimate sales price?
- What is the value of the business?
We work with you to ensure that these general questions – and those specific to your business – are addressed, and the best package developed.
Business & Share Valuations
There are a myriad of reasons why you might need to value your business or a percentage of it, whether it’s for use in preliminary discussions on a potential sale of the business, dispute resolutions or even for use in incentivising key staff via an Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share option scheme. Whatever the reason, our corporate finance team has considerable experience in this field.
Although valuations are predominately numbers based, the key to ensuring a fair and independent valuation is in identifying the factors which impact on these figures such as current market conditions, technical and IP milestones achieved, and the legal structure of the company.
Rely on our team to ensure that valuations are conducted effectively and efficiently, meeting your needs.
Specialist Financial Due Diligence
Whether you are considering buying or selling a business, financial and taxation due diligence is both a necessary and desirable process which is designed to provide significant comfort to all parties involved. It means that a qualified, independent expert has carried out a review of the business from the perspective of the proposed transaction.
Key elements of due diligence include:
• Confirmation that the management information used as the basis for the acquisition terms is reliable
• Reviewing historical earnings and establishing key profit drivers to determine the longer term sustainability of the business
• Analysis of the company’s working capital requirements and determination of the total cash requirement relative to the proposed acquisition
• Summary of the tax implications of the proposed acquisition
This process enables a detailed analysis of the proposed purchase price and legal structure of the transaction, specifically taking into account the client’s circumstances and goals.
Our Due Diligence team has extensive knowledge and considerable experience in providing financial and tax diligence to a range of clients. We have also worked with financial institutions which require third party confirmation that a lending proposition is fully thought through and supported by accurate trading and commercial assumptions.
We believe that tailoring the approach to due diligence is vital, ensuring the key commercial drivers of the company are identified and investigated rather than adopting a blanket approach. This methodology allows us to gain a detailed understanding of the strategic objectives of the acquisition and to determine whether these are in synergy with the business in question.