Firsa Limited – Opportunity Research

What we do

Who do we work with?

At Firsa we typically work with three categories of people:

• Business owners, either individuals or groups, who are considering either raising growth capital or realising value;
• Business managers or teams who are keen to buy out businesses where they have worked or which they have identified as being interesting and potentially available; and
• "Lonely" chief executives or trustees of public or private enterprises who feel unsupported by shareholders and want to take action to improve value.

On the investor and buyer side, we have relationships with mainstream and niche private equity providers, mezzanine funds and lending banks and with a wide range of corporate acquirers both in the UK and overseas. For access to equity funding from the public markets via flotation or secondary issue, we would introduce the best suited and most active stockbrokers at the time.

What are our capabilities?

Our skills are in accounting, corporate finance and investment, law, research and analysis and practical business. We also have access to deep sector knowledge in selected areas and an extensive network of contacts and associations built over more than 30 years.

We don't act as advisers, however, but as independent originators and facilitators. We occupy the space between businesses, their financial and other professional advisers and external partners, investors or buyers, providing light touch but highly concentrated and valued interventions.

A combination of our own projects and regular dialogue with corporate finance firms, both large and small, keeps us "in the flow" as regards current valuation parameters, lending criteria and investment terms.

Often we are appointed at the early stages of a thought process and before professional transaction advisers are brought on board. This allows 'thinking time' to ensure that the right professional team is in place to help deliver the chosen strategy. It minimises time and money spent on choosing the best options, prevents false starts and protects against adviser led solutions which may be sub-optimal. Being completely independent and outcome agnostic, we have no vested interests or conflicts.

What are the solutions?

Solutions are not "textbook" and come in many forms, often evolving through a process. They may involve a single event but more often are achieved through a series of steps over time. We believe that patience, building alternative options and competitive tension are good practice and lead to better results.

These steps and solutions may include:

• Adding temporary or permanent management or non-executive directors
• Finding the right consultants to help with operational, IT, HR or financial system issues
• Getting the value proposition and messaging right, both internally and externally
• Helping to make sure that the business can stand up well to due diligence
• Raising money from financial or trade investors, banks or the stock market
• Introducing financial or trade buyers

Which sectors?

We operate in the white and blue collar business to business services environment, covering both public and private sectors and across a number of industry verticals including:

• affordable housing and urban regeneration
• property services
• buildings and infrastructure design, project management, construction and maintenance
• energy and environment
• engineering and industrial
• health, education and local government
• human capital
• IT and telecoms services
• legal, financial and pensions
• media
• transport and logistics