22 corporate finance
BCMS: 25 years, successfully selling businesses
Steve Dally, the new CEO of BCMS Corporate UK, anticipates steady M&A market growth for the next 12-18 months, which is one reason why he is preparing the Kingsclere-based international dealmaker for rapid growth too
Dally plans to achieve that growth by broadening the BCMS offering, optimising and accelerating its business process, and creating greater awareness of its operations.
BCMS is not as well known as Dally would like, despite being founded in the Thames Valley in 1989 and today operating across five continents.
Part of the reason is the sensitivity required in dealmaking. “If a BCMS communication arrives at a company, there can be the negative perception that the owner is about to sell. I accept that, but that can be positive news too, or the owner might be in acquisition mode.
“While we need to respect client confidentiality, we could do a lot more within the industry to advertise our successes and the position that we hold.“
That position is UK market leader in the sale of privately-owned businesses. BCMS has completed over 500 deals in the past 10 years.
“As we have grown we’ve also acquired individuals and partners with local knowledge.“ (Refreshingly, BCMS takes independent external advice on its own deals).
Appointed as CEO in April, Dally brings a 20-year proven track record of delivering sustainable profitable growth at a number of major corporates, including 3M. He also intends to “add pace“ to BCMS.
Pace is needed, he explains, because more competition is entering the dealmaking market, from new inexperienced firms and major corporate advisories.
He also plans to make BCMS operations more effective and develop a broader offering beyond its core business of trade sales. “As the market changes, we will expand our advisory services to meet the needs of our clients.“
Like many advisory firms, the recession hit the BCMS workbook as companies battened down the hatches. Unlike other firms, BCMS invested rather than cut costs. It resisted redundancies, maintained its service levels, and took the strategic decision to focus on international growth. The company elected for reducing profit but maintaining jobs, knowing that the appetite to sell would return in the marketplace. Now it has
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established partners and offices within 22 countries and employs 240 staff worldwide.
“We’ve actually had an international presence for many years. Many UK companies that we sell involve international acquirers, and also many UK companies we deal with are operating internationally. It’s a global business world; you can’t be limited by one country.“
And, vibrant regions cannot be ignored.
“Having worked for major international corporates (American and South African), I know that M&A can often be locally led. While finances and ultimate ownership may be outside the UK, key subsidiaries have local market knowledge and closer customer contact helping them make the strategic decisions,“ explains Dally. Unsurprisingly perhaps, BCMS has 120 staff within its vibrant Thames Valley ’home territory’.
“We are officially coming out of recession, but the M&A market, although increasingly active, is not the same as it was pre-recession. It’s now more complicated.
It’s still difficult
to fund debt, so prudent companies that have become cash rich are now being more creative with their money – joint ventures, MBOs, MBIs, etc. There’s no point in investing it in a bank account.“
Also, more business owners are attending BCMS’s free seminars to learn about the selling process. “But, their timelines for selling have been pushed out, or they want BCMS to advise on the right time to sell. The difficulty is you can’t predict the future – today might be the right time.“
Timelines are also being extended for deal completions, he added, largely through the increased checking nowadays of complex deals rather than any underlying lack of confidence.
So what makes BCMS so successful? “We are not sector specialists, but we are experts in the M&A process and the related advisory industry,“ states Dally.
BCMS is, and always has been, a family business. It’s worth noting that Brian Rebbettes founded BCMS in 1989 with his sons Dave and Steve, because they felt they could do a better job selling their own company than London agents they had engaged. After rigorous research, a holistic business valuation, and identification of several potential acquirers they achieved
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2014 Proven track record: BCMS’s new CEO Steve Dally
a 40% uplift on the original offer. That approach has underpinned the success of BCMS for 25 years.
Today, the scale of research, knowledge and global contacts that BCMS can bring to dealmaking is a competitive delineator. Globally BCMS staff speak with over 35,000 acquirers every year and often start deals with 150-250 prospective purchasers, narrowing interest down until negotiation can begin with 5 -10 keen bidders. The BCMS business model can achieve final bids that are double the initial offer.
While the M&A market is compressing, several sectors in the Thames Valley are active with deals, notably IT, logistics, pharmaceutical, telecoms, manufacturing, and property.
Notable recent BCMS successes include
Preloved.com – the UK’s second largest classifieds website – to the Hut Group, and Winchester-based property lettings company Personal Homefinders to Countrywide plc.
“I’m looking forward to my first year with BCMS in this current market, it’s going to be a very interesting place to be.“
To discover more about BCMS and find a free seminar in your area, visit the website.
Details:
www.bcmscorporate.com
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