It is very much about the team. What have they got and do they understand the journey they are going to be on? It might be that they need a chief financial officer with greater experience, but not just yet.
It is so important to get that financial person in place when you are working with VC and PE. The bigger PE houses have a picture of what a chief finance officer looks like.
It is imperative to have someone onboard who really understands the issues and the journey.
The current finance director may not be the right person to lead the process and we will recommend that the chief executive brings someone in that is more strategic because it is going to require a completely different skillset to get a deal over the line.
Businesses looking to do a deal should make
of private equity on the way into deals. I was talking to a VC venture debt provider recently and they are looking for investments in the North West, but a lot of their money is going elsewhere.
Maybe we aren’t quite as bullish as some of our counterparts in other parts of the country. Perhaps we are not talking ourselves up in the right way.
Good businesses and good opportunities absolutely still exist. We’ve got an abundance of those in the region. However, make no mistake, it’s a challenging deal- making environment at the moment.
Ben Smith, Head of Asset Based Lending, Interpath Advisory
Interpath Advisory supports businesses, their investors and stakeholders across a broad range of specialisms spanning deals, advisory and restructuring capabilities. It has 11 offices across the country.
I lead our debt advisory practice in the north, raising funding for businesses of specific sizes from upwards of £5m. I work with a lot
I would urge businesses to cast their net wide. There is a huge amount of investment capital out there from private equity, VC and debt funders.
As much as we are proud Lancastrians, sometimes we have to go down to London to find the right partner. We need to be open minded in terms of where the perfect partner or investor might be.
When you’re doing a deal, you need alignment across the shareholder group –
sure they look at and revise their finance function with the full management team before looking at the journey and understand that it takes time to get the right person in.
Also, the runway is 18 months, so get the right people in before you start looking at doing a deal.
If a business won’t change its way of thinking or won’t adapt that is a red flag when it comes to PE.
and a clear understanding of what you really must achieve from it.
What are your non-negotiables? What are the nice-to-haves? That clarity helps you see where you can flex and where the red lines are. If you can reach a collective position and the deal lands in that strike zone – run with it.
During due diligence things are going to come out of the woodwork. Buyers might be changing what the terms of the deal looks like.
If you understand as a shareholder group where you are and what your position is, that is going to allow you to react during the process.
It can be an emotional time when people are selling, particularly when they are a founder or have invested in the business for many decades.
It is the job of the advisor to offer an impartial, objective, dispassionate view because that is sometimes what people need to hear. Being dispassionate is critical to the whole process.
2026 CATEGORIES
AI and Tech Innovation Award NEW Built Environment Award Commitment to Skills Award
Creative Business Award NEW Customer Service Award
Deal of the Year Award NEW Design Award Digital Award
Employer of the Year Award
Environmental, Social and Governance Award Export Award
Family Business Award Large Business Award Made in Lancashire Award Medium Business Award Micro Business Award New Business Award Not-for-profit Award
Professional Services Award Scale-Up Award Small Business Award
PRESENT:
Ged Henderson, Lancashire Business View (chair) Perran Cooke, Sowena Group Ben Davies, Praetura Ventures Ian Liddle, Farleys Stephen Robinson, PM+M Ben Smith, Interpath Advisory Stuart Young, Panthera Biopartners
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Award Transformation Award
Transport and Logistics Award
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DOING THE DEAL
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