Description:
As a Transactional Services Specialist at Associate Director or Director level, you will lead buy-side and sell-side M&A engagements, financial due diligence, and deal structuring for a range of mid-market transactions. Working closely with the Valuations lead, legal advisers, and colleagues across the firm, you will help establish Gravita as a credible transactional advisory practice and play an active role in building that practice from the ground up.
This is not a replacement hire. It is a platform for someone who wants to shape a function, develop their own client relationships, and grow into a future Partner role. The right candidate will be commercially minded, comfortable in the mid-market deal environment, and motivated by the opportunity to create something.
Key Responsibilities
Client / Technical Delivery
- Lead buy-side and sell-side M&A engagements from inception through to completion, acting as the senior point of contact for clients throughout the transaction lifecycle.
- Deliver financial due diligence on acquisitions, disposals, and management buyouts, coordinating with legal advisers and other professional advisers on deal teams. This includes experience of report writing, applying a working knowledge of IFRS and FRS 102, presenting findings to the engaging party, and assisting with Warranties and Indemnities required in the Sale and Purchase Agreement as required.
- Advise on deal structure, completion mechanisms, and post-completion accounting, including locked-box arrangements, completion accounts, and earn-out provisions.
- Provide practical guidance on accounting policies, commercial deal issues, and normalised earnings, helping clients understand the financial implications of deal terms.
- Manage transaction timelines, coordinate workstreams across advisers, and ensure deliverables are produced to a high standard and within agreed deadlines.
- Work alongside the Valuations lead to deliver a coherent advisory proposition, contributing to combined engagements and integrated client pitches.
- Collaborate closely with Gravita's tax, audit, and other service lines to ensure clients receive joined-up advice and to identify cross-referral opportunities.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with lawyers, private equity houses, corporate finance boutiques, and intermediaries active in the mid-market deal ecosystem.
Business Development
- Take active ownership of business development, developing and maintaining relationships with relevant intermediaries, advisers, and corporate finance contacts in target markets.
- Attend sector events, networking forums, and client entertainment as part of an ongoing BD programme.
- Contribute to pitch documents, capability statements, and proposals, taking a lead role on transactional advisory content.
- Identify referral opportunities within the firm and help embed a cross-selling culture across the advisory function.
People / Team Management
- Line manage employees where relevant, managing performance reviews and quarterly check-ins.
- Promote high performance, collaboration, and continuous learning within the team.
- Be approachable, inclusive, and actively listen to team members' suggestions.
- Be an ambassador for Gravita values.
Qualifications, Knowledge & Experience
- ACA, ACCA, or equivalent professional qualification.
- Currently operating at Associate Director or Director level within a recognised professional services firm.
- Proven track record of managing and delivering mid-market M&A transactions from origination through to completion, with hands-on deal execution experience.
- Solid technical grounding in financial due diligence, deal structuring, completion accounts, and the accounting considerations relevant to transactions.
- Working knowledge of accounting policies under IFRS and UK GAAP as they apply in a transaction context.
- Experience of working alongside legal advisers in live deal situations, with an understanding of transaction documentation and key deal mechanics.
- Commercially minded, with a clear understanding of how mid-market deals are sourced, how relationships are built, and where work comes from.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex financial information clearly to business owners, investors, and advisers.
- Motivated by the opportunity to build and shape a practice, with an appetite for origination alongside delivery.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- A background in audit or forensic audit is desirable, as some transactional engagements will include investigatory project work.