Transaction Advisory

Why expert transaction advice matters

When you’re dealing with potentially life-changing sums of money, you need independent expertise that digs down to the facts.

Take the manufacturing business acquisition where initial financials looked strong, but our due diligence revealed significant working capital issues and questionable revenue recognition practices. By benchmarking against industry standards, we identified red flags that would have cost the buyer hundreds of thousands in unexpected working capital requirements.

Business transactions are rarely straightforward. You might understand the opportunity, but vendor opinions come with huge disclaimers attached, and agent advice is designed to close deals, not protect your interests.

How we tackle transactions together

We’re not business brokers, but we do provide the financial analysis and strategic advice that ensures transactions succeed.

Our transaction advisory work comes from diverse sources such as existing clients pursuing growth or exit strategies, referrals from lawyers or other accountants who recognise when specialist expertise is needed.

We helped a property development company navigate a complex merger where different accounting treatments and contract clauses could have created ongoing disputes. By working closely with legal advisors on the technical details, we ensured clean documentation that protected all parties’ interests.

Ready to ensure your next transaction achieves its full potential? Contact UHY Haines Norton today to arrange a discussion about your transaction needs.

Strategic partnership through complex deals

You don’t need over-engineered solutions for straightforward deals, but you do need thorough analysis where it counts. We focus on the details that matter while keeping advice proportionate to the transaction size.

When you’re making major business decisions, you want confidence around the details that could make or break the deal.

We work closely with your existing advisors, such as lawyers, business brokers, and other specialists, to ensure coordinated advice that serves your overall objectives. Our role is often translating complex financial information into clear strategic implications, helping you understand not just what the numbers say but what they mean for your decision-making.

Our specialist team includes dedicated experts who focus specifically on business valuations, working under partner oversight to ensure both technical excellence and practical application to your situation.

You get analysis that digs down to facts rather than accepting opinions with disclaimers attached.

Whether you’re conducting due diligence on a potential acquisition, preparing your business for sale, or need an independent valuation for other purposes, we apply processes developed through years of transaction experience across diverse industries and business types.

Our five transaction specialties

1. Share & Business Valuations
   Providing independent, defensible assessments of business worth for transactions, disputes, or strategic planning. Our approach considers multiple valuation methodologies and industry benchmarks to deliver robust conclusions. Read more.
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2. Due Diligence
   Drilling deep into financial records, forecasts, and business assumptions to uncover hidden issues and validate transaction assumptions. We benchmark against industry norms and identify red flags that could impact your decision. Read more.
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3. Transaction Tax Advisory
   Ensures optimal deal structuring from a tax perspective, working with your legal team to implement arrangements that minimise tax implications whilst achieving your commercial objectives through proper entity selection and timing. Read more.
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4. Buy/Sell Mandates
   Support both purchasers and vendors through complex transaction processes, providing financial analysis, negotiation support, and coordination with other advisors to achieve successful outcomes for all parties involved. Read more.
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5. Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
   Advisory covers the full spectrum of M&A transactions, from initial strategy through due diligence to completion, ensuring all financial and commercial aspects are properly structured and documented. Read more.

Curious about which transaction services could benefit your specific situation? Let’s discuss your opportunities and challenges.

The transaction mistakes you can prevent

Many transactions fail or deliver disappointing results because of avoidable mistakes. Accepting vendor financial projections without independent verification often leads to overpaying for underperforming assets. Poor due diligence misses critical working capital requirements, hidden liabilities, or operational dependencies that affect post-transaction performance.

Contract clauses related to work-in-progress, percentage completions, or clawback provisions can create ongoing disputes if not properly structured upfront. Industry benchmarking often reveals that purchase prices don’t align with realistic performance expectations, particularly in sectors where cash sales or other irregularities affect reported results.

Tax structuring mistakes can cost significant money both immediately and over time. Without proper entity selection and timing considerations, you might find yourself paying more tax than necessary or creating structures that limit future flexibility.

What this means for your success

• Thorough but proportionate advice.
  Your advisory team is experienced and qualified but efficient and cost-effective. You get thorough analysis without over-engineering solutions, ensuring advice matches the complexity and value of your specific transaction.

• Detailed assurance and confidence.
  Working together, we focus on transaction details and tease out key confirmations you’re looking for. This approach increases the confidence with which you can move forward on major business decisions.

• Deeper insights when needed.
  When target disclosures require extra financial capability to understand fully, you get deeper analysis of complex issues. Our specialists drill down to provide insights that impact your decision-making and negotiation strategy.

• Facts over opinions for negotiation advantage.
  Rather than accepting vendor or agent opinions with disclaimers attached, our knowledgeable team digs down to supportable facts and positions that may give you advantages in negotiations and decision-making processes.

Your transaction journey with our team

Your transaction journey starts with understanding your objectives and the specific deal dynamics. We’ll assess the complexity involved and recommend the appropriate level of analysis needed to support your decision-making without creating unnecessary delays or costs.

Our approach covers financial analysis, risk assessment, tax implications, and coordination with your other advisors to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. You’ll receive clear explanations of what the numbers mean for your specific situation, not just technical reports.

We work within your transaction timeline, providing insights when they’re needed most to support critical decision points throughout the process.

Ready to ensure your transaction success? Call us and connect to possibility.