Simon grew his PR agency from £1.5m to a multi-million group by acquiring seven businesses — with no debt, no loans and no risk to the family home.

GUEST

Simon — Founder of Jargon PR; has completed seven acquisitions in PR and media.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Simon had built Jargon PR organically over 10 years to £1.5 million in fees before discovering business acquisition. Since then he has completed seven deals — five PR agencies and two media businesses — all structured with no upfront payment and all self-financing. His second acquisition also served as a geographic expansion into Manchester, using the acquired team's local roots to establish credibility in the market.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

▸ A profit-share over 12 months (with no upfront payment) is a viable structure for a micro acquisition — and one the seller may actually prefer if they just want to retire cleanly.

▸ You do not need fixed assets to do no-money-down deals — in service businesses, the 'assets' are the people and the client relationships.

▸ Acquisition can be used strategically to enter a new geography, not just to add revenue.

▸ Staff concerns are consistently more important than client concerns post-acquisition — clients rarely notice, staff always do.

▸ Seemingly small things — payroll date, expenses policy, mobile phones — matter enormously to the team you've just taken on.

▸ Put yourself in the seller's shoes: find out what they actually want, then work backwards from that.

DEAL HIGHLIGHT

First deal: a PR agency doing £100k/year in fees, acquired on a 12-month profit-share of 10% — no upfront payment, no debt. Two staff members and most clients are still with Jargon PR today.

"You can only ever sell your business once — so just tell me what you're looking for and we can work from that."

Learn more: www.dealmakers.co.uk

Neil turned a redundancy and just two months of savings into a thriving accountancy business — then used acquisition to prove the model could scale.

GUEST

Neil — Founder of an accountancy practice; has completed two acquisitions and is building a scalable group.

EPISODE SUMMARY

After multiple redundancies and with only two months of cash in the bank, Neil set up his accountancy practice and grew it organically to around £350k turnover. A chance LinkedIn message from a sole trader looking to exit led to Neil's first acquisition — a micro deal that served as proof of concept. His second, larger deal came two years later and brought with it a qualified CTA, enabling Neil to restructure his management team and free himself from technical work.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

▸ Starting with a micro acquisition is a legitimate strategy — the proof of concept is as valuable as the revenue it adds.

▸ Monthly recurring revenue (direct debit-based) gives you a much clearer picture of what you're really buying.

▸ Acquiring outside your local area is entirely possible — Neil's first acquisition was in Bournemouth, far from his base.

▸ Half upfront, half after 12 months with clawback is a sensible structure for a small deal where client retention is the key risk.

▸ Acquiring a CTA (chartered tax advisor) as part of a deal can solve a management layer problem and free the business owner to step back.

▸ Intangible value — Google reviews, referrals, untapped upsell potential — often isn't on the deal sheet but is real.

DEAL HIGHLIGHT

First acquisition: a small fee bank in Bournemouth, structured as 50% upfront and 50% after 12 months with a clawback clause. Most clients were retained; Neil has since grown revenue from that client base above what the deal projected.

"If I can do it for three or four clients, why can't I do it for 30 or 40?"

Learn more: www.dealmakers.co.uk

Stephen lives in France, works in the UK — and has completed four acquisitions of digital and creative agencies, two mergers, and one disposal.

GUEST

Stephen — Former COO; now building a UK digital and creative agency group from his base in France.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Stephen's acquisition journey began when he left a COO role at a $6m US business and discovered Jonathan Jay's webinar. Based in France, he has since completed four UK acquisitions in the digital marketing and creative agency space — sending out batches of letters, building a pipeline of 30–40 conversations, and completing his first deal with a distressed business owner. He reflects candidly on the difference between a distressed owner and a distressed business, and on the value of in-person mastermind events.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

▸ You do not need to live near the businesses you buy — Stephen operates entirely remotely from France.

▸ Sending letters in batches of 1,000 and following up consistently is the core of deal origination.

▸ The first call is the hardest; after six conversations, confidence builds naturally.

▸ There is an important distinction between a distressed owner (whose business may be healthy) and a distressed business — the former is a much better deal.

▸ Walking away from a deal at heads of terms is entirely valid — Stephen did it on his first serious conversation.

▸ In-person mastermind events deliver disproportionate value: the peer network, shared experience and real-time problem-solving accelerate progress significantly.

DEAL HIGHLIGHT

Stephen's first completed acquisition was a distressed business with a distressed owner. He structured it to limit downside: bought for £1, knowing the worst case was simply walking away and shutting it down — ensuring no significant capital was at risk.

"When I decided to leave, I came across a webinar of yours and I'm like, oh, this is possible — didn't even realise there was an option."

Learn more: www.dealmakers.co.uk