The Corporate Finance Network (The CFN), the largest network of UK accountancy firms specialising in advising owner-managed businesses on corporate finance matters, has today announced that it has chosen to contract with MarktoMarket for its UK data and deal intelligence requirements for the coming year.

This move comes after The CFN had previously partnered with another database provider for over fifteen years.  The CFN stayed close to MarktoMarket since its inception in 2018, ultimately concluding that it had become the “Gold Standard” for SME data.

Kirsty McGregor, Founder & Chairman of The CFN, explained why she believed the change was necessary: “Credible and complete data is essential for our member firms when they are valuing businesses, finding potential buyers or targeting businesses for a purchaser.

Our unique research offering to our member firms supports them with their data requirements, but it also relies on a platform which is consistently stable and moving with the times.  Artificial intelligence and web scraping has progressed immensely in the past few years and we wanted to work alongside a provider who was investing in the future, to develop the quality and quantity of data which it provided.

We have found Doug Lawson and the team at MarktoMarket impressive in their commitment and very responsive to our suggestions for specific further developments.

One such request has recently been rolled out as a new feature and provides very interesting data.  It shows that there are over 1.5m companies which have an average age of directors of over 56 years old and 2.3 million with an average director age of over 50.

When compared with statistics from 2015, it shows that directors have, on the whole, not yet exited their companies and are continuing to work in the business.

There has to be a natural conclusion to this situation, where there must be an acceleration of owner managed business exits over the next few years.  As such, we predict a very busy time and a great opportunity for advisers who can assist in those sales.

I am delighted to be working with Doug, Kathryn Stevenson and such an enthusiastic team who share my passion for providing the best quality advice for our country’s business owners.  I have already supported MarktoMarket with a webinar update and we have some joint publications planned shortly.  I look forward to more collaborations in the future.

Doug Lawson commented “I have known Kirsty and The CFN team since the beginning of our journey at MarktoMarket and I have always shared her dedication to supporting the SME ecosystem.  The UK has a rich heritage in producing successful businesses and generating wealth for their creators.  However, the business lifecycle, from inception to exit, requires diligent, evidence-based advice from accountants and other professional advisers.  The combination of The CFN and MarktoMarket can enable thousands of accountancy firms to expand their services into the provision of high quality, profitable corporate finance advice.”

Notes for Editors

The Corporate Finance Network supports a group of carefully selected accountancy firms from around the UK who advise owner managed businesses on corporate finance matters.  Founded by Kirsty McGregor in 2007, its firms have completed over 200 cases in the past year.   For more information see www.TheCFN.org.uk

MarktoMarket is a data platform used by hundreds of investors, accountants and other professional advisers operating in SME markets.  MarktoMarket’s platform supports activities such as company valuation, exit planning, equity and debt funding searches and market research with evidence-backed data and intuitive workflows.  The business was founded in 2017 in Edinburgh and employs 30 people.  It is backed by VC investors 24Haymarket, Par Equity and Techstart. For more information, see www.marktomarket.io