Everyone checks the numbers. Few prepare for this part.

You’ve identified the perfect acquisition target.

The strategic fit is undeniable. Revenue multiples are reasonable. Your combined businesses would dominate the market segment.

You approach the seller, confident this is the deal that accelerates your £10M+ journey.

Then the seller’s advisers start asking questions.

“Walk us through your integration capability.” “Show us your consolidated financial forecasting.” “How will you maintain service quality during transition?”

And you realise: you’re not actually ready to acquire anything.

The Pattern That Kills Deals Before They Start

After 30+ M&A transactions, I can spot an unprepared buyer within the first conversation.

It’s not about lacking capital. It’s not even about finding the right target.

It’s about approaching acquisitions before building the foundations that make them successful.

Most entrepreneurs think acquisition readiness means having enough cash and identifying a target. They’re wrong on both counts.

Acquisition readiness means having operational infrastructure so solid that integrating another business is a systematic process, not a heroic scramble.

Wondering if your business is actually ready to acquire?

What Sellers See When You’re Not Ready

Here’s what happens when unprepared buyers approach targets:

• The seller’s advisers ask about your finance function. You explain that your bookkeeper handles everything and you’re “pretty hands-on with the numbers.”
• They ask about operational documentation. You mention that your team knows how things work and you’ve got some processes written down somewhere.
• They ask about leadership capacity. You talk about how involved you are in daily operations and how you’ll “definitely step up” post-acquisition.
• The seller hears: “This buyer will destroy our business during integration.”

Deal over.

Not because your vision was wrong. Because your infrastructure couldn’t support it.

The Infrastructure Gap That Stops Acquisitions

Most entrepreneurs dramatically underestimate what’s required to successfully acquire and integrate another business.

They think: “We’ll figure it out once the deal closes.”

Reality: By the time the deal closes, you’re already behind. Integration chaos begins immediately. Revenue drops. Key staff leave. Customers get nervous. Your original business suffers because you’re firefighting the acquisition.

Within six months, you’re wondering why you ever thought this was a good idea.

The alternative? Build integration capability before you approach targets.

Financial infrastructure that handles complexity. Not just clean books—systems that can consolidate multiple P&Ls, model combined scenarios, and produce integrated management accounts within weeks of closing.

When we scaled Huveaux through acquisitions, we didn’t scramble to integrate financials post-deal. Our systems absorbed new entities systematically because we’d built that capability first.

Operational independence from the founder. If your business requires you to run it, you physically cannot integrate an acquisition. Integration demands senior leadership bandwidth across every department simultaneously.

You need departmental leaders who can handle integration workstreams whilst maintaining business-as-usual performance. If that’s not in place, integration fails regardless of deal quality.

Documented processes that scale. The acquired business needs to adopt your systems, or you need to adopt theirs, or you need to create combined new systems. None of that works if your “systems” live exclusively in your head.

Process documentation isn’t bureaucracy. It’s the instruction manual that makes integration possible.

Looking to learn more about creating acquisition-ready infrastructure?

Claim the award-winning “Add Then Multiply” eBook and learn the proven methodology behind 30+ successful M&A deals.

Why the Acquire Stage Comes Second in FACE

The FACE Methodology: Fund, Acquire, Consolidate, Exit – puts Acquire as the second stage for a specific reason.

You need Fund-stage infrastructure before you can successfully execute Acquire-stage transactions.

That doesn’t mean you need external funding. It means you need the systematic financial planning, operational excellence, growth infrastructure, and strategic clarity that makes a business fundable.

Those same foundations make you acquisition-ready.

When entrepreneurs try to skip Fund and jump straight to Acquire, they’re attempting complex M&A without the basic infrastructure required to execute it. That’s why most acquisition attempts fail.

The Question Every Entrepreneur Needs to Answer

Before you approach another acquisition target, ask yourself one question:

• If a seller’s advisers asked to see your integration capability today, what would you show them?
• If the answer is optimistic projections and good intentions, you’re not ready.
• If the answer is documented processes, proven financial infrastructure, independent departmental leadership, and clear strategic rationale, you’re ready to have serious conversations.

The difference between those two positions is about 8 weeks of systematic preparation.

If you’d like more guidance on building an acquisition-ready business…

Subscribe to The Multiplier Effect Newsletter for weekly insights on M&A readiness, strategic acquisitions, and the proven methodologies behind £115M+ raised and 30+ successful transactions.

There’s no reason you can’t acquire on your terms.

— David B Horne