The Corporate Finance Network has released the 100th issue of Network Opportunities, the publication which lists the businesses for sale and wanted across the member firms of The CFN, along with a review of six successful deals completed in the previous month.
This newsletter, issued 10 times per year, provides a regular listing of all the firms’ clients who are either looking for a buyer so they can exit, seeking an acquisition target or an investment opportunity, and it has been existence for over 10 years. Firms also circulate it around their own contacts so that they can widen its reach and attempt to find matches for the businesses listed.
On the occasion of this 100th issue, The CFN are also announcing a new initiative to match buyers and sellers, the “Dealmaker Hustle”. Taking place online on alternate Tuesday mornings, The CFN member firms will have the opportunity to hear directly about possible deals from the advisers of 3 businesses, who are either looking for a buyer or a target to acquire.
Kirsty McGregor, Chairman of The Corporate Finance Network explains more “When The CFN grew to a certain size, we found that the emails informing member firms about possible deals were coming thick and fast, and that causes the opposite reaction to the intended purpose – people were zoning out from them. Therefore we recognised early on that we needed to combine them in this monthly newsletter. It also gave us an opportunity to promote some successful deals, which is always great to be able to do. It has formed a core part of our offering to member firms and assists with lead origination but also raising their profile, and on our recent member survey, firms expressed that this was an element of their membership which they valued.
“It has served its purpose over the years, but now, as newsletters have become commonplace and clutter email inboxes, we wanted to take this up a step. Deal origination is the utopia for corporate finance, and as the SME economy struggles to manage the pandemic, there will be more business owners looking to sell and more SMEs have the opportunity to become acquisitive. If we can create those deals within our network and throughout the accounting and corporate finance profession, then we can make a substantial contribution to protecting the employment and trade in our economy.
“We have been holding “Huddles” online for our firms to come together and they are very well attended. They had started in April twice weekly, then we reduced them to weekly and had taken the decision to make them fortnightly, but firms now feel that this is too infrequent. So by using the alternate Tuesdays for this “Dealmaker Hustle” we can use this opportunity to provide increased profile and attention to some of our deals, hoping to spark a recognition or an idea from another firm who may have thoughts about who could be interested in hearing about that deal.
“I hope that this initiative will make a real difference and allow us to complete more transactions for our clients, more effectively, across our network.”
The first Dealmaker Hustle will take place in October. For accounting or corporate finance teams to obtain more information, or to request to join, contact info@TheCFN.org.uk
