Talk to us about your exit
Value starts with strong compliance
Buyers pay for certainty. The single biggest thing that erodes value, delays a deal or causes one to fall away entirely is uncertainty about the quality of past advice and the robustness of the records behind it.
A firm with clean, well evidenced files, suitable advice, clear disclosure and a documented approach to Consumer Duty is a straightforward business to buy. A firm without those things invites price adjustments, deferred consideration, extended warranties and indemnities, or no offer at all.
Paradigm Consulting supports firms with exactly this groundwork: file reviews and advice suitability checks, Consumer Duty and consumer outcomes evidence, training and competence records, SM&CR and governance frameworks, financial promotions sign off and technical support on complex cases. Building on that foundation benefits your clients and your business both today and when it comes to sale later down the line.
Explore Paradigm Consulting support
The best time to start planning is now
The firms that achieve the strongest outcomes are the ones that started preparing around five years before they wanted to sell. That is not because a sale takes five years. It is because the things that lift a valuation take time to bed in.
Five years gives you room to remediate historic advice issues properly, embed consistent processes across every adviser, reduce reliance on the owner, tidy the client bank, improve recurring income quality and demonstrate a track record rather than a promise. Firms that come to market with twelve months' notice are usually selling on the buyer's terms, not their own.
If your exit is further away than five years, that is an advantage, not a reason to wait.
Know what a buyer will find
Every acquirer will run detailed due diligence on your firm. Paradigm can run that exercise first, on your side of the table, so nothing comes as a surprise.
Our pre-sale due diligence work typically covers a sample based review of advice files and suitability, higher risk business such as pension transfers and switches, complaints and past business review history, adviser competence and supervision records, Consumer Duty evidence, financial promotions and marketing material, permissions and regulatory reporting, and the quality of client and income data.
You receive a clear picture of where the firm stands, a prioritised list of what to fix and the time to fix it. That is the difference between answering a buyer's questions with confidence and negotiating a discount.
Absolute Financial Group
Some sellers want a national home for their clients and their people rather than a standalone trade sale. Absolute Financial Group is one option worth knowing about.
Absolute launched in 2025 as a UK wide acquirer of advice firms, backed by a £115m equity commitment from Inflexion Private Equity, Tatton Asset Management and its own management team. It is led by chief executive David Carter, with Paul Hogarth, founder of Tatton Asset Management, as non-executive chair. The group is building a single national advice business and offers flexible deal structures.
Tatton Asset Management plc is Paradigm's parent group, so we can make an introduction to Absolute quickly where it looks like a fit. Of course, Absolute is one of several possible buyers and there is no requirement to consider it.
Find your match
The Agency can also match selling firms with buying firms using two questionnaires, one for sellers and one for buyers.
HOW IT WORKS
Register using the button here; once registered you can complete a Sellers questionnaire, a Buyers questionnaire, or both, with full instructions on how to complete and save them provided when you register.
Questionnaires must be completed in full to be considered for matchmaking. The information you provide is then formatted into a report that can be shared with matching firms, so you are talking to firms that already fit your criteria.
Whichever side of the deal you are on, the first step is the same: register, complete the questionnaire and let us do the matching.
Buying & Selling Questions
We would be delighted to have an initial, no obligation discussion with you where we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
REQUEST A CALL BACKWhenever you plan to exit, start here
Your firm is likely to be the most valuable asset you own. What it is worth on the day you sell is decided long before that day arrives, by the quality of your advice, the strength of your records and how well the business runs without you.
The Agency brings the whole picture together: build the business on a solid compliance foundation, use the five years before exit to get genuinely sale-ready, test the firm with pre-sale due diligence before a buyer does it for you, and then find the right buyer through our matchmaking process or an introduction to a national acquirer such as Absolute Financial Group.
Whether you are planning to exit next year or in ten years, the next step is the same and it costs nothing. Have an initial, no obligation conversation with us. We will answer your questions, tell you honestly where your firm stands and help you build a plan from there.
Please note: Paradigm's involvement in the introduction process is in relation to facilitating an introduction only. It is a firm's own responsibility to consider any legal aspects of a sale or purchase and to be satisfied with the suitability of any potential buyer or seller.
Book a no obligation conversation
THIS SITE IS FOR PROFESSIONAL INTERMEDIARY USE ONLY AND NOT FOR USE BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
Paradigm Consulting is a Member of the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants and also the Consumer Duty Alliance.
Useful Links
Paradigm Consulting is a trading name of Paradigm Partners Ltd
Office address: Paradigm Partners Ltd, Paradigm House, Brooke Court, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 3ND
Paradigm Partners Ltd is registered in England and Wales. No.09902499. Registered Office: As above
Paradigm Mortgage Services LLP
Office address: 1310 Solihull Parkway, Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham B37 7YB
Registered in England and Wales. Company No: OC323403. Registered Office: Paradigm House, Brooke Court, Lower Meadow Road, Wilmslow, SK9 3ND
Paradigm Mortgage Services LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership.
Paradigm Protect is a trading name of Paradigm Mortgage Services LLP
Office address: 1310 Solihull Parkway, Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham B37 7YB
Paradigm Mortgage Services LLP is registered in England and Wales. Company No: OC323403. Registered Office: Paradigm House, Brooke Court, Lower Meadow Road, Wilmslow, SK9 3ND
Paradigm Mortgage Services LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership.