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