AU & NZ
SG
MY
US
IE
PwC has predicted that global M&A activity will be on an upward trajectory this year as some of the ‘economic and geopolitical uncertainties weighing on the market over the past couple of years lift’ so if you’re considering finding new investment, growth opportunities at scale, or you simply want to sell up - now could be the right time to look at your options.
Having completed more than 100 acquisitions across the UK, Asia-Pacific and the US, The Access Group has an abundance of experience in this space and we want to bring that wealth of knowledge to SME business leaders.
Each acquisition has been completely different, with its own nuances, varying market conditions to take into account and different personalities involved. Each one has taught us something new and our M&A team can now identify patterns they see across businesses once we start to have conversations with business leaders.
Over the years they have picked up some key learnings that we feel are crucial for business owners and senior teams at startups or SMEs to be aware of.
We take a look at some of those here:
Consider the human factor
Many high-growth companies focus heavily on financial metrics and product compatibility when it comes to discussions around acquisitions, often neglecting the most crucial element - people. It’s really important for the impact to the people within a business to be part of the talks.
Without proper consideration for cultural and human alignment, M&A efforts can be at risk of misalignment, attrition and failed integrations.
"Human alignment is just as important as product fit when acquiring a business. The Access Group’s strategy prioritises cultural compatibility from the very start, establishing shared values, and fostering open communication. This approach leads to smoother integrations and supports a values-driven growth strategy."
It’s also important for companies to consider what their ideal buyer would be years in advance. Whether that’s thinking about strategic alignment or cultural values, it can guide every decision on their road to acquisition.
Such Amin, whose legal app inCase, was acquired by Access Legal (part of The Access Group) in 2024, wholly believes in this theory. He says that valuation is just one piece of a much larger puzzle, and in fact human alignment and post-deal ambitions matter just as much.
"You need to know your ideal buyer before they knock on your door. Too many founders wait for an offer before asking themselves the most important question: Would I actually want to sell to this company? By that point, it’s often too late to step back. If you haven’t already defined who the right buyer is and what they’d need to bring to the table, you risk being pulled into a deal that compromises your values or your vision. Founders who succeed in M&A are those who already know what ‘the right fit’ looks like, long before the conversation starts."
Get the balance right
Like the previous point, an acquisition strategy that prioritises rapid growth over identity, agility and employee trust is vulnerable to failure. Therefore, it’s important for a founder to balance scaling quickly with maintaining their reason for the acquisition in the first place.
The Access Group integrates each acquisition with cultural alignment as a top priority - ensuring shared values from the outset, preserving the organisation's core essence and setting both parties up for long-term success and a unified future. For this reason it can sometimes take months of discussions before an agreement is reached where everyone involved is satisfied with the outcome.
Be M&A ready
While many high-growth companies don’t actively seek buyers, the benefits of behaving as if you are "always on the market" are undeniable. The fast pace of today’s business world means that opportunities often come when you least expect them, and being M&A-ready ensures you're prepared to capitalise on those opportunities - or maintain control when they do arise.
As a result, having clean financials, tight governance and well-organised data from the start prepares your business for a potential sale, and gives an acquiring company huge confidence that the business is high-quality and well run. Having this mindset from the beginning enables you to stay in control of your company’s narrative and respond strategically to new opportunities when they arise.
The company where David Boyar was CEO at the time, ChangeGPS, was also bought by The Access Group in 2024 and he says having a clean and tidy structure in place helped to have a much smoother transition.
"Maintaining operational excellence, clear financial structures and an up-to-date data room enables companies to be agile, make informed decisions and secure the best possible outcomes when M&A opportunities present themselves. You’re always on the market."
Such adds that the better prepared companies are the ones who retain leverage and greater options for growth:
"Long before a sale is on the table it makes sense for founders to have an ‘always-on’ M&A hygiene mindset. Operationally clean businesses are easier to run and easier to scale. From financials and legal docs to HR policies and tech architecture, the sale process can be overwhelming without a clear plan or team in place, so it makes sense to have that ready to go from the start."
Prepare to let go
Life after the sale can be emotionally and professionally complex. A founder's role can shift pretty quickly from entrepreneurial leader to a more collaborative executive within a larger system.
While founders may no longer have the same level of control, the opportunity to shape the future of the business still exists - but it requires a change in leadership style. By embracing this new role, founders can lead with influence, guiding their organisations toward continued growth within a larger framework.
This can be both an emotional and strategic challenge, as they must let go of control while redefining their sense of purpose.
"We wanted to stay on after the sale but we had to shift our mindset, moving from entrepreneur to executive on a board with many others - a transition that involved trading autonomy for influence. Successfully navigating the transformation was emotionally complex but through adjusting our leadership approach we have been able to continue to drive innovation and growth in the newly integrated business, and the company has fared better as a result."
Keep teams informed
Not just through the discussions before the sale, but also after the transaction, regular communications is the key to a successful acquisition.
It can be an unnerving time for not only the founders, but the board and employees too, especially when your business and teams are small. Therefore keeping people informed of the discussions, latest developments and potential outcomes mitigates for any surprises and helps you to navigate the changes much easier.
"It was important for me to keep the board regularly updated on developments. We set up an internal Whatsapp group to help with this and to share important information until we were ready to announce the news to the wider business. Even after the sale it was important for me to keep communications open with employees to ensure they could ask the questions they needed to ask and felt reassured that the business would continue and not be impacted negatively."
The Access Group has a dedicated M&A team to ensure the transition for companies is as smooth as possible and founders feel reassured throughout the process.