Group M&A Analyst

Role: Group M&A Analyst

Location: Wilmslow – Temporarily remote

Hours of work: Full-time

Salary: up to £40K

We are Citation Group.  We offer colleagues and clients an opportunity they will not gain at many other businesses.  We are interested in growth, investment and service excellence, we have never and will never grow our business by cost cutting or tying people up in bureaucracy.  We don’t do politics – we want people focused upon actions and delivery.  We don’t do micro-management – we empower, support and innovate.  We are leaders, not empire builders and we love our business.

This is a really exciting to join us in this newly created role. Across our group companies we have over 45,000 clients who love us, need us and want to buy more from us.  Having acquired 10 businesses over the last 3 years which offer products and services that our clients need and want; we’re only interested in future growth; we’re not finished yet.

Moving is a risk – is that what you’re thinking?  We’ve not made anyone redundant and don’t plan on doing so either.  We’ve just entered our 3^rd wave of private equity ownership alongside KKR and Hg Capital and don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.  This also means as the company grows over the next 3 to 5 years, you’ve got the opportunity to do so too!  If the prospect of this excites you… good, you’re the right type of person for us.

In this key role, you will work with key stakeholders and teams right across the business.  It is a wide and varied role with bags of opportunity and support.  With continual double-digit growth year on year, our business thrives on people with vision, determination, agility, focus and brilliant people skills.

What will you be doing?

The successful candidate will support the Group Director of M&A as part of an M&A team to work alongside the senior management team across the Citation Group.  M&A has been and will continue to be an important element of our growth strategy and this role will be at the heart of the company’s future.  Specifically, you will be responsible for:

• Assisting in a number of M&A processes from start to finish, including identifying target opportunities, researching new or existing markets, and reviewing due diligence and transaction documentation
• Helping to deliver the M&A strategy in terms of priority investment areas, identifying targets and creating opportunities – not just taking direction, we want you to contribute your ideas too
• Evaluating new acquisition opportunities
• Researching, analysing and preparing presentations on M&A opportunities and wider M&A strategy
• Target research and analysis, valuation and financial modelling
• Preparing detailed internal investment proposals and board presentations
• Competitor analysis and updating of transaction comparable information

The successful person

• Strong academic background, Accounting Qualification (ACA/CIMA/ACCA/CFA)
• Prior M&A or related experience (including due diligence/transaction support)
• Experience working on buy-side M&A transactions
• Strong project management skills. Able to manage multiple projects and workstreams effectively, delivering high quality work on schedule
• Highly numerate with solid financial modelling skills
• Rigorous attention to detail
• Ability to work autonomously while also participating collaboratively as part of a team
• Team-oriented with excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills

What’s in it for you?

The role is fast paced, challenging and highly quantitative.  The M&A Analyst will have direct interaction with our Group board, external investors as well as potential new prospects through our marketing and origination efforts.

You will report directly into the Director of M&A, who has years of experience in the industry and a hands-on management style conducive to developing talent. Its not very often you will get the opportunity to join a company who have already tripled in size once and are looking to do it again. You’ll get to be part of shaping something special where you can look back and say, “look what we achieved”.

Other fantastic perks include… 33 days holiday (inc bank holidays), birthday off work, 1pm finishes on a Friday, duvet mornings, 5* weekends away, extra weeks holiday for newlyweds, vouchers for expectant parents, private healthcare, and much much more.