Andrew Barnsley, founder and Managing Partner of Acuity Alliance Partner Adam Street Advisers, fills us in on his business journey, and the importance of good advice during the transactional process
Key contacts: Beverley Jones, Jon Lawley, Steve Berry
Tell us about your business. How do you help your clients?
We are a corporate finance advisory boutique. We tend to work primarily with founders, entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses who are looking to raise money, to grow their business or are at the stage where they’re looking to sell. So, we cover quite a broad spectrum.
We have deep experience in the healthcare and education sectors. However, we have completed transactions in a broad range of sectors such as food and beverage, fashion, engineering, manufacturing, leisure, software, technology and AI enabled businesses.
You’re an entrepreneur yourself. What was your journey towards founding your own business?
I’m a frustrated banker! I got my first job doing deals in the healthcare sector when I was 30 after doing my MBA. By 32, I had set up a corporate finance advisory business. Over the last 20 years, that has evolved into what Adam Street is today.
How do clients find their way to Adam Street?
We do very little marketing. It’s 100% reputation and referrals, people know where to find us. We’ve built a really strong community amongst owners of private companies, they all know other entrepreneurs and, as a result, they tell people to come and see me. We also have a strong referral network, of which Acuity is a part.
What legal issues do your clients come up against? When do you bring in a lawyer?
I send them to a lawyer because they are about to embark on the biggest transaction of their lives: selling or raising equity for their business. They need to understand fully not just what we do, but how we work with lawyers to make sure that the transaction gets the best result for them.
The client needs to understand the legal process in doing a transaction: that it needs to cover everything from property (if they have a lease or own freehold), employment elements involving their workforce, any kind of investment agreement or SPA, finance and corporate matters. So, once we refer into the top at Acuity, it gets filtered out to all of your different teams.
It’s really, really important for us to work with quality, experienced lawyers, because we do so much work upfront and the deal has to be executed properly. Our lawyers have to be prepared to work hand in glove with us and listen to us from a commercial perspective, and we rely on them from a legal perspective – it’s a true collaboration, so it has to be the right partnership.
What do you wish your clients knew?
I wish my clients knew a good lawyer from a bad one. Many clients are going through the process for the first time and just tend to chase the lowest priced lawyer. We’ll often get a client come to us who will say they have a mate who knows somebody who’s a lawyer, and we have a call with that firm and realise quickly that they’re not going to do a good job on a deal. We have to explain to the client why that is the case, and it can be awkward.
What are the hallmarks of a good adviser?
A good adviser is somebody who is going to work very closely with their clients. If I take on a client, I’m working with that client all the way through the transaction until it completes.
Having a relationship based on trust with the client is important (… and we have a saying that a good client is one that listens!)
Who in the corporate world has most inspired you?
On the global stage, the obvious ones – global entrepreneurs that have built up these amazing businesses, taking massive risks and putting everything they own into it.
But I’m also inspired by smaller-scale businesspeople. I’ve worked with a number of elderly entrepreneurs who have been inspirational.
What has been your biggest learning point in business?
Nothing happens as you expect it! You set off to do one thing and, trust me, it will be completely different by the time you finish it. I think that’s a good thing. We like variety. Sometimes it’s frustrating from a planning perspective, but it makes life interesting.
What’s the best thing about being an Acuity Alliance Partner?
I’ve had a lot of partners over the years, but this is the partnership where we’ve just gelled. It’s a very symbiotic relationship, I’d say.
Are you buying, selling a business, or raising equity? Make sure you get the right advice. Contact Adam Street Advisers and our Acuity Corporate team. Sign up to My Digital Lawyer for guidance, document generation, insights and more from our Acuity Alliance Partners.
