M&A advisory for founders selling, acquiring, and growing UK & European businesses

We help founders of independent UK and European businesses sell, acquire, and grow — without sacrificing the legacy or culture they have spent a lifetime building. Partner-led, B Corp certified, and refreshingly straight-talking.

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M&A experts for £5-100m business sales, acquisitions and capital raising.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) means the buying and selling of companies.

CapEQ is a partner-led M&A advisory boutique — a small, specialist firm — that guides founders through the sale of the business they built. We work almost entirely on the sell-side: we advise the owner selling, not the buyer.

We are a certified B Corp — independent verification of how we work, not just what we promise — and every engagement is run by a senior partner who has personally owned and sold a business.

The gist

CapEQ is a partner-led, sell-side M&A advisory boutique for founder-led UK and European businesses, typically £5m–£100m in revenue.
We are a certified B Corp, certified in 2021 — independent verification of how we work, not just what we promise, and a pioneer of B Corp M&A in Europe.
Our sweet spot is deals with an enterprise value (the total value of the business to a buyer) between £10m and £50m.
Every engagement is partner-led from first call to completion: the senior people you meet are the ones who close your deal.
Our partners have completed more than 100 transactions and have sold their own businesses.
Three principles guide every mandate: exceptional value, ethical process, and legacy protection.

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A B Corp approach to M&A

Most M&A advisers compete on fees, deal volume, or sector reach. We compete on the things that actually matter to a founder: a fair price, a fair process, and a future for the business you have built.

CapEQ is a certified B Corporation – a business independently assessed against social, environmental, and governance standards, externally awarded rather than self-declared.

For you, that means independent verification of how we work, not just what we promise. Honest advice. Transparent fees. No hidden incentives. No conflicts of interest. We were a pioneer of B Corp M&A in Europe, certified in 2021.

It is M&A done with EQ – the emotional intelligence to listen, and the expert intelligence to deliver.

Read about our B Corp commitment

How we help - full service M&A advisory

Selling your business

Sell with confidence, on your terms

You may have reached a natural exit point – internationalisation, growing management complexity, capital requirements, an unsolicited offer, an investor exit, or personal reasons. Whatever the reason, selling the business you built is one of the biggest decisions of your working life.

We guide you through every step – preparation, going to market, negotiation, due diligence, and completion – with steady hands and straight talk. Our job is to secure exceptional value while protecting the people, culture, and legacy you care about.

Discuss selling →

Acquiring a business

Buy smart. Build faster

Whether you have an in-house M&A team or none at all, we add capacity and capability. We help you sharpen the thesis, find the right targets, evaluate fit, and complete the deal – without losing momentum on the day job.

Our network is current, our analysis is rigorous, and our advice is independent. You get the breadth of a full M&A team for less than the cost of building one in-house.

Discuss acquisitions →

Growing a business

Find the right backing for the next phase

Bringing in investors is a major decision. We help you weigh your options across venture capital, venture debt, private equity, and angel investment – in clear English, not jargon – so you can pick the partner and structure that fit the plan.

We have supported founders through fundraises, recapitalisations, and management buyouts (MBOs – where a company's existing managers buy the business). Same standards. Same straight talk. Same focus on the long-term outcome.

Explore growth options →

Transaction advisory

Independent advice when objectivity matters

Independent advice on specific deal moments – handling unsolicited offers, vendor due diligence (the seller's own pre-sale investigation of the business), and deal structuring. We support you, your board, or your investors when an objective second opinion is what is needed.

Transaction advisory services →

How CapEQ works

Three principles, every engagement

Partner-led from start to finish

Your advisory team does the work. Not interns, not subcontractors. The senior people you meet are the senior people who close your deal – and the same faces are with you from first call to final completion.

Transparent at every stage

You always know what we are doing, why, and what it costs. No hidden fees. No surprise invoices. No inflated valuations to win the mandate. We tell you what your business is worth, not what you want to hear.

Built around the founder

We listen first. Your goals shape the process. Whether you want a full exit, a partial sale, a management buyout, or a longer transition over three years, we build the plan around what you want to happen next – for the business, your people, and yourself.

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The proof is in the deals

Founders across software, healthcare, recruitment, manufacturing, and professional services have trusted CapEQ to find the right buyer and protect what matters. Recent completions include Selteka, Autus Data, Health Net Connect, Skerritt Electrical, Govtech Solutions, Liberty Flights, Paycircle, Really Simple Systems, Factmata, and AV Danzer – with many more before them.

See our completed transactions →

Why founders choose CapEQ

Exceptional value

We secure the maximum defensible valuation – the highest price that can be evidenced and defended to a buyer – through rigorous preparation, competitive tension between buyers, and disciplined deal management. You should not have to choose between a good price and a good outcome. You can have both.

Ethical process

As a Certified B Corporation, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of transparency, confidentiality, and care. No hidden incentives. No conflicts of interest. We are structured to put your outcome ahead of our fee – and we will tell you not to sell if the timing is wrong. Honest advice, every time.

Legacy protection

Culture, staff, customers, and community are not afterthoughts. They are deal criteria. We find buyers whose values fit yours – and we write those protections into the terms, not just the pitch. When your deal completes, you plant a sapling: a physical symbol that what you built keeps growing.

Founder empowerment

Our Three-Year Shareholder Exit Roadmap puts you back in control. Exit becomes a reality you direct, not a moment that happens to you.

“After initial discussions with our eventual acquirer, it became clear that we needed an experienced M&A advisor to guide us through negotiations to completion.

"Mark Sapsford at CapEQ was recommended to me, and we hit it off straight away. Mark’s personal energy, attention to detail and problem-solving skills proved vital to smooth the path to get everything over the line."

Polly Branney, Director

Oxford ADHD & Autism Centre (UK)

"I appointed CapEQ as advisors for the sale of my business after long- and short-listing 10 M&A advisors.

All advisors have the same process on paper, but I liked the depth of the team that would work on the project, as well as the domain expertise in the software industry.

I couldn’t be more pleased with them!

John Paterson, founder

Really Simple Systems (UK)

We wouldn't have been able to do this without you. You guys made it happen

Catherine Pinkney

Paycircle co-founder

The people behind every deal

We are a close-knit team of seasoned M&A professionals — partner-led, deeply experienced, and proudly small enough that you will recognise everyone in the room. You will work with the same faces from first conversation to final completion.

Meet the team

Michelle Chandler-Haynes | CapEQ Project Management

Audrius Sankalas | CapEQ Baltics Nordics Director

Frequently asked questions

What is M&A advisory? M&A advisory is professional support for a business going through a merger, acquisition, sale, or strategic investment. A good adviser manages the entire process – preparation, marketing, negotiation, due diligence, and completion – protecting both the deal value and the founder's interests at every stage.

How do I know if my business is ready to sell? Most businesses become genuinely sale-ready 18 to 24 months before they go to market. Strong recurring revenue, a capable management team, clean financials, and reduced founder dependence are the four indicators that matter most. Our free Exit Readiness Quiz gives you a personalised score in about five minutes.

How long does it take to sell a business? A typical sale takes six to 12 months from going to market to completion, depending on size, sector, and deal complexity. Founders who prepare for 18 to 36 months before going to market consistently achieve stronger valuations than those who sell reactively.

What does a B Corp M&A advisor do differently? A Certified B Corporation is independently audited on its social, environmental, and governance performance. For an M&A adviser, that means transparent fees, honest conversations, no hidden agendas, and explicit attention to the legacy and culture of the businesses we sell – not just the headline number.

How is my business valued for sale? Most founder-led businesses are valued on a multiple of annual recurring revenue (ARR – the predictable subscription income a business earns each year) or EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation – a common proxy for underlying profit), adjusted for owner add-backs. Multiples vary by sector, growth profile, customer concentration, and scarcity factors.

What is the CapEQ Three-Year Roadmap? Our Three-Year Roadmap is a structured exit plan for founders who want time to maximise value before going to market. We work with you over 12 to 36 months to strengthen the business across the things buyers care about most, then run a competitive process when the timing is right for you.

Do I need an M&A advisor to sell my business? An experienced adviser prepares the business, runs a competitive process, and manages negotiation and due diligence – the work that protects both price and completion.

What are CapEQ's fees? Most engagements blend a modest retainer with a success fee tied to the final deal value. We discuss fees openly in our first conversation, before any commitment is made. There are no hidden costs and no surprise invoices.

What size businesses does CapEQ work with? Our sweet spot is independent businesses generating £5m to £100m in revenue, typically with 30 to 500 employees, and an enterprise value between £10m and £50m. We work across software, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, and other professional and B2B services.

Where is CapEQ based? CapEQ is headquartered in London, with senior team members covering the UK and continental Europe. Most engagements involve face-to-face time with the founder, whatever the location.