Martin's ambitious roll-up strategy for accountancy firms includes a unique model where he charges businesses to help them become worth buying.

GUEST

Martin — Entrepreneur building a £400m financial services group through accountancy acquisitions.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Martin came to Jonathan Jay's course as a sceptic and left ready to move fast. Within days of finishing, he had acquired his first accountancy firm — and a second between Christmas and New Year. His strategy has since evolved into a sophisticated pipeline model: for businesses that want more than he can fairly pay, Martin charges a monthly consulting fee and takes an option to buy in three years, helping them reach the value they're seeking while generating referral income along the way.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

▸ Speed of action after learning the process is a hallmark of successful acquirers — Martin had two deals done within a week of finishing the course.

▸ Buying your own accountant can be a dual win: you get a great business model AND recruit the MD you wanted.

▸ For businesses priced far above what they're worth, an option-to-purchase combined with paid consultancy creates a win-win: the seller gets help, you get referral income and a pipeline deal.

▸ Accountants typically value their own businesses on gross recurring fees (0.8–1.5x turnover) rather than profit multiples — understand this going in.

▸ Integrating mortgage, insurance and pension referrals into acquired accounting firms is where the real profit sits.

▸ A business that's been consulted and developed before acquisition arrives de-risked, with transition work already done.

DEAL HIGHLIGHT

Martin has built a pipeline of 14 businesses he is actively preparing for acquisition, charging them monthly consultancy fees while holding an option to buy at a pre-agreed price — creating income today and a de-risked acquisition tomorrow.

"What if we just start buying up accountants? How hard can it be?"

Learn more: www.dealmakers.co.uk

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