Financial Due Diligence
Financial due diligence that gives you clarity beyond the numbers
Whether you’re acquiring, investing in or selling a business, you need to understand not only what the financial information shows, but the commercial implications of that information.
Our financial due diligence (FDD) team combines rigorous financial analysis with senior commercial judgement to help private equity investors, corporate and trade acquirers, independent sponsors, lenders and acquisitive entrepreneurs make informed decisions.
We analyse the quality and sustainability of earnings, underlying trading performance, cash conversion, working capital, net debt and forecasts, and translate our findings into clear implications for valuation, deal structure and post-completion planning.
No two transactions are the same. Our approach starts with understanding your rationale.
We tailor our scope accordingly, focusing our analysis on the issues that matter most.
Rather than simply identifying accounting issues or historic financial information, we consider what these actually mean for your transaction. We’ll communicate significant findings as they emerge, highlighting matters that could affect valuation, financing or your negotiation position.
The result is focused, decision-ready analysis that helps you move forward with confidence.
Tailored to your transaction
Our work is proportionate to the transaction, investment thesis and areas of greatest relevance. Depending on the scope, this can include:
Quality and sustainability of earnings
Historic and current trading performance
Revenue and margin analysis
Cash conversion
Normalised working capital
Net debt and debt-like items
Balance sheet considerations
Forecasts and business plans
Management information and data analytics
We provide buy-side FDD across platform investments, bolt-ons and strategic acquisitions, alongside vendor due diligence and vendor assistance for shareholders and investors preparing for a sale.
Senior-led, commercially focused
Our senior Transaction Services specialists remain closely involved throughout the process, from agreeing the scope and understanding your investment rationale to interpreting findings and supporting you through completion. Where required, our FDD specialists work alongside our transaction tax, Corporate Finance and wider advisory teams, giving you access to complementary expertise through a coordinated team.
Alex Judd
George Thresh
James Wood
Experience across different transactions
Private equity
Platform investments, bolt-on acquisitions, exits and portfolio activity.
Corporate acquisitions
Strategic acquisitions and buy-and-build programmes, including complex and cross-border transactions.
Vendor support
Vendor due diligence and assistance to help shareholders and management teams prepare for scrutiny and maintain momentum through a sale process.
Search Funds and ETA
Focused and proportionate diligence for entrepreneur-led acquisitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to some of the most common questions about financial due diligence, what it covers and how it can support your transaction.
The scope will depend on the transaction, but typically includes analysis of quality of earnings, trading performance, revenue and margins, cash conversion, working capital, net debt and debt-like items, balance-sheet exposures and forecasts.
We tailor our approach to focus time and analysis on the issues most relevant to your transaction rather than applying a standard scope in every situation.
Our analysis can identify matters that influence maintainable earnings, valuation, the enterprise-to-equity value bridge, normalised working capital and the purchase price.
Findings can also inform negotiations, financing arrangements, SPA protections and post-completion priorities.
For clients pursuing a buy-and-build strategy, we can establish a consistent diligence approach across multiple acquisitions while tailoring each scope to the target, transaction and areas of greatest risk.
This provides consistency across the programme without conducting unnecessary work simply because it formed part of a previous diligence exercise.
Yes. We provide both vendor financial due diligence and vendor assistance, depending on the requirements and structure of the sale process.
Our work helps shareholders and management teams identify issues early, strengthen the financial information available and prepare for the level of scrutiny likely to come from potential buyers and their advisers.
Yes. Our Financial and Tax Due Diligence specialists work closely together, allowing the two workstreams to be coordinated around the transaction while retaining the appropriate specialist expertise.
Yes. We support clients on UK and cross-border transactions, working alongside relevant specialists and advisers where a transaction spans multiple jurisdictions.
Built on trust, proven in practice
Contact us
We are always ready to help you and answer your questions.