Buy-side
We identify serial acquirers and acquisition targets for corporate finance firms running buy-side mandates — using Companies House data, SIC code research, and direct director outreach.
The challenge
The most attractive acquisition targets in the UK are owner-managed, profitable, and not actively looking to sell. They do not appear on business-for-sale platforms. Their owners have not engaged an adviser. And they will not respond to a generic outreach approach.
Finding them requires systematic research — mapping the acquisition landscape sector by sector, identifying the businesses that fit the brief, and approaching the right decision makers in the right way.
This is what Hayford Group does. We handle the research and outreach so your advisory team can stay focused on evaluating and executing live opportunities.
Our approach
SIC code mapping to identify businesses in target sectors
Companies House research to filter by ownership structure and financials
Director-level identification and contact research
Personalised outreach on your behalf
Introductions when qualifying conversations open
Adjacent sector targeting to surface off-market opportunities
How it works
01
We work with you to define the acquisition criteria — sector, geography, revenue range, ownership structure, and strategic rationale. This shapes every aspect of the research.
02
Using Companies House data and SIC code targeting, we build a universe of potential targets that match the brief — including adjacent sectors the acquirer may not have considered.
03
We conduct director-level outreach on your behalf. When a business owner is open to a conversation, we make the introduction — coordinated with your mandate timeline.
Why it works
When you originate a deal through your own outreach, you have a structural advantage. The business owner has not been pitched by five other advisers. The price expectation has not been inflated by a competitive process. And you have had more time to understand the business before negotiation begins.
Hayford Group's buy-side sourcing is designed to generate exactly this kind of proprietary deal flow — opportunities that your firm owns, not ones you are competing for.
We work on a monthly retainer basis, giving you consistent outreach rather than an irregular, reactive approach. To understand more about how deal sourcing works in practice, read our article on how M&A advisers find acquisition targets.
We can run concurrent outreach across multiple sectors simultaneously — creating a broader pipeline than an in-house team can typically sustain.
Deal sourcing requires sustained effort. We maintain outreach activity regardless of how busy your deal team is, so the pipeline does not stop when the team is at capacity.
All outreach is conducted on your behalf. Business owners we approach are not aware of Hayford Group — we operate as an extension of your firm.
Our success fee structure means we are incentivised to deliver qualifying introductions, not just activity reports.
Buy-side sourcing