Transactions -K3 Deal Advisory

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Cleardata

Sector: Software & Digital Services
Location: Northumberland
Buyer: SPS

K3 Deal Advisory advises Cleardata, a specialist document management business, on its trade sale to SPS, a Zurich-headquartered business transformation company.

Advising shareholders through growth, change and exit

With more than 30 years’ experience advising on corporate finance matters, Ian Barton has supported shareholders and directors through key decisions across the business lifecycle, from raising funding and acquisitions to growth planning, shareholder reorganisations, restructuring and successful exits.

His work spans a wide range of sectors, with particular experience in logistics, industrials, healthcare, technology and business services. Recent transactions include the sales of Pareto Facilities Management, Launch Diagnostics, Lifecast and Climb Online. He has also advised on acquisitions, management buyouts, capital raising and buy-and-build strategies, including work with Taking Care, Cosegic and strategic acquisitions for Whistl.

For Ian, the role of an adviser is about more than managing a transaction process. It is about understanding what shareholders want to achieve, identifying the opportunities and issues ahead, and giving clear advice on the routes available. As he puts it, advisers need to advise clients, not simply prepare documents or make statements.

That matters because corporate finance decisions are rarely purely technical. For many business owners, choosing an adviser and deciding on the next step for the business are emotional and often deeply personal decisions. Trust and rapport are central, and Ian believes being invited into that process is something advisers should approach with humility and sound judgement.

The most rewarding moments often come at the end of a transaction, when the efforts of the client and the value they have built are either realised or positioned for the next phase of growth. By that stage, advisers have often become an integral part of the decision-making process. Resolving the final issues can mark a major inflection point, whether shareholders are buying, selling or raising capital for growth.

For business owners considering a transaction in the next 12 to 24 months, Ian’s advice is straightforward: it is never too early to plan. Deals almost always take longer than people expect, and preparation is often the longest part of the process. Done properly, however, it is also the stage that can generate the greatest long-term benefit.

He believes shareholders should look for an adviser who will be alongside them through the ups and downs, pushing matters forward where needed while remaining robust, supportive and commercially focused. In challenging markets, that guidance becomes even more important. Economic headwinds can disrupt activity, but good deals will still be completed for well-prepared clients, and disruption can also create opportunity.

Ian is a qualified chartered accountant and holds the Corporate Finance qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Before joining Quantuma, he began his career in Manchester and became a partner leading the corporate finance business of a Big Four accountancy firm in the South East. He then re-established the lead advisory business at a boutique firm in the Thames Valley.

Over the last 20 years, Ian has been recognised as Corporate Financier of the Year and Dealmaker of the Year at the Thames Valley Deal Awards, having advised on many of the winning or nominated transactions for Deal of the Year.

Away from dealmaking, Ian lives near Ascot with his wife and two grown-up daughters. A Manchester City fan, he has followed the club since the Maine Road days. His claim to fame is being the less skilled half of the 1992 Durham University Ballroom Dancing champion pair, as well as runner-up in the 2004 series of TV quiz Test the Nation. These days, he has retired to focus on watching Strictly and doing pub quizzes instead.

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