Funding an Acquisition: How to Build a Deal That Works on Day One
At GoodFX, we see the same pattern again and again. A buyer finds the right business, agrees a price, and then discovers that funding the deal is only half the challenge. The other half is making sure the combined business has the cashflow it needs the morning after completion.
Buying a business is rarely funded from one pot. The strongest deals are built from several sources, each matched to a different part of what's being bought. With over 90 years of financial services experience across our team and a panel of over 60 lenders, we look at the whole picture and build a funding stack around the deal, rather than squeezing the deal into a single product.
Start with what you're buying
Every acquisition target holds value that can help fund its own purchase. The trick is knowing where to look.
The debtor book. Invoice finance and asset-based lending can unlock the value in the target's sales ledger at completion, funding part of the purchase price from day one.
Plant, machinery and vehicles. Asset finance and refinance can release value tied up in equipment the business already owns.
Property. If the target owns its premises, a commercial mortgage, refinance or sale and leaseback can turn bricks and mortar into deal funding.
The gap. Secured and unsecured term loans can then close the distance between the asset-backed funding and the agreed price.
Don't forget what comes next
A deal that completes but leaves the business short of cash isn't a good deal. We always look beyond completion day.
Cashflow funding that grows with turnover keeps integration on track. Trade finance supports stock and supplier payments as the combined business scales up. And where timing is tight, bridging can keep the deal moving while longer-term funding is finalised.
A deal that completes but leaves the business short of cash isn't a good deal.
Buying overseas? Fix the price
For cross-border acquisitions, currency movements between agreeing the price and paying it can quietly add thousands to the cost. As an FX specialist, GoodFX can use forward contracts to lock in the exchange rate, so the price you agree is the price you pay. Funding and currency are handled together, with nothing falling between two providers.
The deals we support
Management buyouts and buy-ins, helping teams own what they have built
Trade acquisitions, from bolt-ons to buying a competitor or supplier
Pre-packs, where fast, asset-backed funding gives a business a fresh start
Cross-border deals, where funding and currency need to work as one
Why experience matters in M&A
Acquisition funding is time-critical. Completion dates are set, legal teams are working, and the last thing anyone needs is a lender asking for information nobody anticipated.
Decades of experience. Our team has sat on every side of the table: lending, audit, client management and broking. We know what underwriters will ask before they ask it.
Speed when it counts. Because we know what lenders need up front, we can present a deal properly the first time, which keeps things moving towards completion.
The right decision makers. We have direct relationships with the people who say yes, from high street banks to specialist lenders. Knowing who to call, and what they want to see, can make the difference between a deal that stalls and one that completes on time.
Ethical funding, by design
GoodFX is a certified B Corp, and one third of our profits go to good causes through our three impact pillars: philanthropy, carbon neutrality and career education.
That means every deal we fund also does some good, without any compromise on the funding itself. You get market-leading solutions and expert advice, and your acquisition becomes part of a bigger story.
A note for corporate finance advisors and accountants
The best time to bring us in is early. We work alongside you to shape the funding, protect your client relationship and keep the deal timetable on track.
The common thread
Every acquisition is different, but the approach is always the same. Understand the full picture, not just the funding request on the surface. Then build a solution that works for where the combined business is going, not just where it is today.
If any of this sounds familiar, whether you're planning an acquisition, advising a client on one, or facing a tight timetable with funding still to finalise, get in touch. We'd be happy to talk through the options.
Helen Mackenzie · helen@goodfx.co.uk