The Acquisition Readiness Scorecard

Answer the following 10 multi-choice questions to reveal your acquisition readiness score

Section A: Financial Readiness

How much capital do you have available to deploy into an acquisition? *

More than £150,000 - I am ready to go

£75,000 to £150,000

£25,000 to £75,000

Less than £25,000

Section A: Financial Readiness

Have you had a conversation wityh a lender, business broker or corporate finance advisor about acquisition financing in the last 12 months? *

Yes - I have a clear view of what I can borrow and on what terms

I have had conversations and have a broad sense of my options

Not yet - I know I need to do this but I haven't started

No - I am not sure what acquisition financing even involves

Section B: Deal Knowledge

If a business was presented to you today with £500k EBITDA and asking a 5x multiple, how confident are you in your ability to assess whether the price is fair? *

Very confident - I understand EBITDA multiples, normalisation and how to sense-check a valuation

Reasonably confident - I understand the basics but would want advisor support

Not very confident - I know what EBITDA is but not how to assess whether 5x is right

Not confident at all - this is new territory for me

Section B: Deal Knowledge

How familiar are you with the key stages of business due diligence - financial, legal, commercial, HR and operational? *

Very familiar - I have been through a due diligence process before or advised on one

Familiar with the concept - I know what each area involves but I haven't run one

Partially familiar - I understand financial due diligence but less clear on legal and HR

Not familiar - I wouldn't know where to start with a due diligence process

Section C: Operational Readiness

How much time could you realistically dedicate to an acquisition search and process over the next 6 months? *

More than 2 days per week - this is a priority and I've made space for it

1 to 2 days per week - I have some capacity but would need to manage other commitments

A few hours per week - it would need to fit around significant other demands

Very little - I'm fully committed elsewhere and couldn't dedicate meaningful time

Section C: Operational Readiness

Do you have experience managing, leading, or operating a business - either as an owner or in a senior leadership role? *

Yes - I have owned or run a business and understand P&L, people and operations

Yes - I have held a senior leadership role with real P&L and team responsibility

Partially - I have managed teams or functions but haven't had full P&L ownership

Limited - my background is more specialist or technical rather than operational leadership

Section D: Deal Process Readiness

Do you currently have a team of advisors in place for your acquisition, including an M&A advisor, solicitor and accountant? *

Yes - I have all 3 and they have M&A experience

I have 1 or 2 of these in place - working on the full team

Not yet - I know I need advisors/support but haven't appointed anyone

No - I haven't thought about this yet

Section D: Deal Process Readiness

Have you identified any specific businesses that you would consider acquiring - or do you have a clear methodology for finding acquisition targets? *

Yes - I have a target list and/or an active deal sourcing approach running

I have a clear target profile and have started looking - no live targets yet

I have a broad idea of what I want but haven't started a structured search yet

Not yet - I'm still figuring out what I want to buy

Section E: Strategic Clarity

How clearly defined is your acquisition target criteria - sector, size, geography and business model? *

Very clearly defined - I have a written target profile and understand my investment thesis

Reasonably defined - I have a clear sense of what I want with a few areas still open

Broadly defined - I have preferences but haven't formalised them

Not defined - I'm open to most things and haven't narrowed it down yet

Section E: Strategic Clarity

How would you describe your personal readiness to take on the responsibility, risk and commitment of owning a business? *

Fully ready - I've thought it through carefully, discussed it with my family and I am committed

Mostly ready - I feel prepared but there are one or two things I want to resolve first

Working towards it - I'm building towards this but not ready to commit fully yet

Still exploring - I'm interested but not sure this is the right path for me

Your Results Are Ready!

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DEALWISE ADVISORY

The Acquisition Readiness Scorecard

Answer the following 10 multi-choice questions to reveal your acquisition readiness score

Section A: Financial Readiness

Q1 of 10

Q2 of 10

Section B: Deal Knowledge

Q3 of 10

Section B: Deal Knowledge

Q4 of 10

Section C: Operational Readiness

Q5 of 10

Section C: Operational Readiness

Q6 of 10

Section D: Deal Process Readiness

Q7 of 10

Section D: Deal Process Readiness

Q8 of 10

Section E: Strategic Clarity

Q9 of 10

Section E: Strategic Clarity

Q10 of 10

Your Results Are Ready!