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An exit strategy for your business...

Delivered by a fellow operator

Transform your business into a premium, sale-ready asset, ensuring a successful exit, safeguarding your financial future and preserving your legacy.

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Stronger together:

The full spectrum of M&A support

Whether you’re building a business, scaling one, or preparing to exit, you’re facing challenges. And if you’re like many of the business owners we partner with, you recognise that getting this right requires help from someone who actually understands what you’re facing.

Our tree represents the complete ecosystem of support we provide. Each leaf is a critical area where operator-led expertise creates tangible value for your business.

Click a leaf and explore each one to see how comprehensive our partnership really is.

Select a section on the diagram to see details.

Proven track record

Absolute discretion

End-to-end accountability

Operator-led expertise

Pre & Post Transaction Support

Hands-on transformation

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OUR SERVICES

Operator-led advisory across the full business lifecycle

Our goal is simple: give you clarity, confidence and a partner who understands what running a business feels like.

Three service lines, each built on real, lived experience.

Exit stategy & M&A advisory​

Helping you secure the outcome you’ve worked a lifetime for

Selling a business is never just a transaction. It’s personal. We work with you through every stage – from early preparation to final completion – so you can stay focused on the business. 

M&A ADVISORY

Startups & growth advisory

Scale sustainably without losing what makes you different

Growth can get messy. We help you lay the right foundations so your business can scale without slipping into chaos or losing the character that made it successful in the first place. 

START UP & GROWTH

Operational transformation

Turning complexity, pressure, or stagnation into a competitive advantage

When margins tighten, teams feel stretched, or the business starts pulling you back, something needs to shift. We get in beside you to transform the operational engine of your business. 

Operational

Is this you?

Building, scaling or ready to exit?

Perhaps you’re a...

‘Legacy Guardian’, nearing retirement...

And want to ensure your financial future is secure, your employees are looked after, and the company continues to thrive. You’re confident in your business but anxious about the complex, high-stakes M&A process you’re about to face.

Trapped by the very success you’ve created. You know the business is too reliant on you, and that “key-person risk” is the single biggest barrier to your freedom and a successful sale. You need more than a broker; you need an operational partner who’ll work alongside you to reduce that dependency before you go to market.

You’ve taken the business as far as you can and know it needs a strategic partner to reach the next stage. Your goal is to maximise its value and find the right buyer who understands its potential.

You’ve identified a market opportunity and have the industry experience to execute. But you know that getting the operational foundations right from day one is the difference between building something genuinely valuable and creating problems down the line. Scale efficiently, attract the right partners, and position for eventual investment or exit – without the costly restructuring.

Whether you’re preparing for investment or simply want to maximise value and operational capability without a current exit plan, we can help. You don’t need more strategy decks. You need an experienced operator who’ll embed with your team and drive the internal performance and structural improvements that lift your EBITDA and market position.

Whatever stage you’re at, if you’re serious about building genuine value, we’re ready to help you get there.

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LOOKING TO SELL?

Here's our extended partnership commitment...

Transformation partners

Most M&A advisors arrive when you’re ready to sell and vanish once the deal completes. This leaves you vulnerable. When suitable, we can serve as a Non-Executive Director for 12 to 18 months before and/or after the deal, providing continuity throughout.

Before the transaction:

Working with us before going to market gives you time to fix problems properly, not cosmetically. You’ll build genuine operational strength that buyers can verify, dramatically reducing deal risk and securing a significantly higher valuation.

After completion:

This protects your earnout provisions, ensures promises made during negotiations get executed, and provides continuity for your team during the transition. You’re not navigating integration alone, and you’ve got someone watching your back when it matters most.

This extended partnership is the difference between simply selling your business and securing the outcome you deserve.

THE CONFIDENCE-COMPETENCE GAP

Your confidence in running your business is well-earned. But you recognise that selling or scaling it requires a different, highly specialised set of skills. We're here to bridge that gap.

Engineering & Infrastructure Services Company

Multi-entity group sale to institutional buyer

Surfacing and Civil Engineering Contractor

Startup advisory, operational structuring and growth advice

Highways & infrastructure specialist

The complete operator-led journey

Multi-business portfolio sale

Controlled exit under severe time constraints

Success stories

What we've delivered for businesses like yours

These aren’t theoretical case studies – they’re real transactions and partnerships where our operator-led approach created measurable value. Each engagement was different, but the common thread is clear: experienced guidance, pragmatic execution, and outcomes that matter. 

You won’t find client names here. That’s deliberate. When you’re navigating M&A, preparing for investment, or implementing sensitive operational changes, the last thing you need is your advisor broadcasting it. Confidentiality isn’t just about legal agreements – it’s about protecting your competitive position, your team’s confidence, and your relationships with customers and suppliers. We take that seriously.

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Picture of Mike Clancy

Mike Clancy

Guidance from a fellow business owner who has walked in your shoes...

I’m Mike Clancy, the founder and principal of Thornycroft Consultancy. My approach to M&A advisory is different because my background is different.

I’m not a career banker or accountant. I’m a current, hands-on business owner

who, alongside my advisory work, actively runs other SMEs. Managing the P&L, making payroll on a Friday, navigating the sleepless nights – I’ve faced the same challenges you do. This operational reality means I can work alongside you to transform your business from the inside, not just advise from the outside.

And I understand institutional buyers. Spending 12 years at Securitas, working within part of a £4 billion global business spanning 52 countries and 330,000 people, I know how they think, what they’re looking for, and how to position your business to maximise value.

That dual perspective is what enables the extended partnership model. I can embed myself operationally for the 12 to 18 months needed to transform your business, then leverage my corporate experience to secure the optimal outcome, and finally remain involved post-transaction to ensure continuity and accountability.

That’s what makes the difference – operator-to-operator guidance backed by institutional-grade expertise.

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Hayley Clancy

The seamless support behind every successful transaction...

I’m Hayley Clancy, the Executive Assistant and Secretary of the business, keeping everything organised, confidential, and running exactly as it should.

In M&A advisory, the details matter. A lot. I manage the confidential documentation, coordinate complex deal timelines, and act as the first point of contact for clients. My role? To anticipate what’s needed before it’s needed, and make sure every interaction feels seamless.

Discretion, precision, and staying calm under pressure. That’s what I bring. Because when you’re navigating one of the most significant decisions of your life, the last thing you need to worry about is whether the details are being handled properly.

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Ready to explore the next chapter for your business?

And want to ensure your financial future is secure, your employees are looked after, and the company you built continues to thrive. You’re confident in your business but anxious about the complex, high-stakes M&A process you’re about to face.

New Success Story:

Engineering & Infrastructure Services Company

£50 million revenue | 350+ employees | Utilities & water sector

This transaction represents one of the most significant deals in our track record and demonstrates our ability to successfully navigate complex, multi-entity sales to institutional buyers.

The company:

A Somerset-based engineering and infrastructure services business established in 2016. Over six years, they had built something exceptional: a group of companies employing over 350 people with multiple specialised divisions covering mechanical & electrical services, groundworks, highways, environmental services, and water utilities.

By the financial year ending October 2022, the group was generating approximately £50 million in annual revenue and serving a prestigious client portfolio including major UK water companies, local authorities, and blue-chip housing developers across South England and South Wales.

 Despite this impressive growth and scale, the business needed to be positioned correctly for acquisition by a strategic or private equity-backed buyer. The group structure was complex, with multiple legal entities and trading divisions that needed to be presented coherently to sophisticated buyers.

We managed the sale process through to successful completion in May 2023, following the announcement in April of that year. The business was acquired by a utilities specialist backed by one of Europe’s leading private equity firms.

This was the acquirer’s sixth and largest acquisition in just over 12 months, demonstrating the quality of the asset we had helped position for sale. The deal provided significant strategic value:

  • Geographic expansion across the South West of England and South Wales
  • Enhanced capabilities in the water and wastewater sector
  • Perfect timing ahead of the industry’s AMP8 regulatory cycle
  • Addition of approximately £50 million in revenue to the acquirer’s portfolio

Following completion, the business maintained its brand identity whilst integrating into the broader group structure. The combination proved successful, with the merged entity continuing to expand capabilities and secure major infrastructure contracts.

This transaction required navigating regulatory approval, managing a complex multi-entity sale, and ensuring the founders achieved both their financial objectives and their desire to see their business and team thrive under new ownership.

It’s exactly the kind of operator-to-operator partnership we specialise in.

New Success Story:

An infrastructure specialist

This ongoing engagement demonstrates the full spectrum of our hands-on, operator-led methodology. It’s a textbook example of how we transform a business from the inside out, long before it ever reaches the market.

The company:

A well-established highways contractor specialising in street lighting, traffic signage, civil engineering, and EV charging infrastructure. Founded over a decade ago, the business had grown to employ hundreds of people across multiple UK locations and was securing major contracts on national frameworks.

Despite its impressive client roster and growth trajectory, the business was heavily owner-dependent. The founder had built something genuinely valuable but recognised he needed specialist support to prepare the company for a premium exit and navigate the complex M&A process ahead.

In February 2025, we were engaged following a referral from a previous client (always a good sign). We began by taking on a formal role as Non-Executive Director and advisor to the board, providing a structured pathway to sale.

Over six to seven months, we led a comprehensive operational and strategic restructuring programme. This wasn’t advisory work from a distance. We worked directly with the business, engaging a curated team of commercial and procurement specialists through our network to execute on agreed priorities.

When the business was truly sale-ready, we then engaged the full transaction team: legal advisors, corporate finance specialists, and commercial due diligence experts – all channelled through us as the single point of accountability. No conflicting advice. No confusion. Just clear, coordinated execution.

Through this engagement, we’ve developed what is essentially a turnkey, “oven-ready” M&A solution. We’ve built a trusted team of specialists who can be deployed rapidly on future transactions, enabling SME owners to prepare for and execute a sale without disrupting their day-to-day operations.

The transaction is progressing through its final stages. Once complete, we’ll be able to share the full outcome. What we can say now is that this project has delivered exactly what we promise: comprehensive, operator-led support covering the entire exit lifecycle, from operational transformation through to deal execution.

This is what end-to-end accountability looks like in practice.