Grant Thornton
Technology Business Access to Specialist Advice to Deal with the Ever-changing Economic Environment
From start-up to float or sale, your technology business will need access to specialist advice if it is to deal with the ever-changing economic environment.
Our technology corporate finance specialists can help you identify and implement the right strategies - at the right time - to enable you to grow the value of your business and maximise the return on your investment.
Technological advances, highly competitive global market places and, pressure from external investors, dictate that businesses operating in the technology sector must constantly re-evaluate strategy and respond to market changes.
Responding effectively to these challenges will inevitably involve some, or all, of the following:
raising equity and debt finance to fund growth and development or acquisition
identifying and negotiating strategic alliances or joint ventures with complementary businesses
finding suitable acquisition targets and securing cost-effective deals
responding effectively to approaches from potential acquirers
selecting the most appropriate time and means to exit
grooming the business for sale and managing the sales process.
Setting up and running a technology business can be extremely complex and external funding is often required if the business is to grow and prosper. Our technology team can help you raise finance by targeting appropriate providers and helping to negotiate the right deal to meet your specific needs.
Grant Thornton's Corporate Finance team has an enviable track record of giving technology companies and their investors the practical support and market understanding they need to move quickly from start-up to maturity and exit.
Using our experience, extensive contact base and sophisticated research capabilities, we can help you to:
define a realistic growth strategy
manage the challenges of global markets and competitors
respond effectively to short-term opportunity or risk
maximise return by realising investments at the right time
structure funding proposals and source potential funding
identify and assess acquisition targets and manage approaches
restructure the business to facilitate investment or divest non-core activities
negotiate and structure strategic alliances or investments so as to protect long-term shareholder value
prepare the business in part or in whole for disposal
identify potential high value acquirers, market the business and negotiate the deal.
Our multi-disciplinary team of specialists is drawn from a variety of backgrounds including accountancy, private equity, industry and consultancy. We have specialist transaction support teams and liaise closely with our corporate tax practice in structuring and planning transactions.
Our membership of Grant Thornton International means that we also have access to dedicated corporate finance specialists and a network of contacts and fund providers in every major technology centre across the globe.
Technology businesses tend to have greater external funding requirements than those in other sectors, due mainly to the high research and development costs, rapid growth and the need to invest in high quality, skilled staff.
A typical fund-raising pattern might be:
round 1: friends and family/grants
round 2: business angel/seed corn finance
round 3: venture capital/private placing/Ofex
round 4: flotation.
In each case, however, the source will depend on:
the use to which the money is to be put
the degree to which the future success of the business is assured
business assets or personal assets available to offer as security
the extent to which a trading track record can be demonstrated.
In addition, most technology businesses will require working capital finance to fund trading. Typically sources are likely to be bank related and include:
loan/overdraft
asset-based finance such as lease or hire purchase
factoring and invoice discounting
mezzanine finance.
Grant Thornton's technology team can help you through the funding process, sorting out the key issues a financier is likely to raise and recommending the best source for the job in hand.
Our success is due, at least in part, to our vigorous assessment of funding propositions. We can define what stage you are at in the fund-raising cycle, identify the appropriate funder and help you to present your business in the best possible light.
In addition, our experience in the technology sector means that we are well-known and respected by those funders most likely to invest in your business.