Harry Phillips

Harry Phillips

Private investor · London

I buy established British businesses from owners who want to be rewarded for their life's work, and to see it carry on after they step back.

Why I do this

I have spent my career in investment banking, advising on mergers and acquisitions. What struck me was how much attention went to the largest deals and how little went to the businesses that actually hold the country together: founder-owned firms in essential sectors that have served the same customers for decades and employ a large share of Britain's workforce.

Britain has hundreds of thousands of these businesses, and many are owned by people who are ready to step back. Most want the same things: to be properly rewarded for what they have built, and to know that their staff, their customers and their reputation will be looked after once they have gone.

Too often that never happens. Businesses are wound down, or sold to a buyer who wanted the customer list and nothing else. Staff who gave it twenty years are let go, and a reputation built over a working lifetime disappears in a matter of months.

I do this to give owners a better option: a sale that rewards their life's work and lets the business carry on.

My background, and how I get deals done

Before buying businesses myself, I spent my career in mergers and acquisitions, advising buyers and sellers on how deals are valued, structured, financed and completed, for privately owned businesses and listed companies alike.

That experience is what I bring to your sale. I know where deals slow down and why they fall over, and I plan around it from the first conversation, so the process stays smooth and predictable for you.

You deal with the decision-makerYou speak to me from first conversation to completion.
I can move quicklyBecause the decision is mine, I can give you a clear view on value and structure early, and move to completion as quickly as you are comfortable with.
The deal is shaped around youFrom the outset, I work with you on what matters most to you: the price, the timing, your role after the sale and what happens to your team. The aim is an outcome that meets your needs and gives the business a strong future.
No surprisesI explain every part of the structure in plain English as we go. Nothing new appears in the final documents that we have not already discussed.

How a sale works with me

A confidential conversationWe talk about you, the business and what you want from a sale.
A look at the numbersI review the accounts and ask the questions I need to form a view.
An offer in writingI set out my offer in writing, and we work through the structure of the deal together to reach a mutual agreement that delivers a favourable outcome.
Due diligenceA focused check of the business, handled discreetly so your staff and customers are not disrupted.
Completion and handoverWe sign, and the handover runs at the pace we agreed, with you involved as much or as little as you want.

What I commit to

The name stays over the doorYou spent decades making it mean something to your customers, and I want it to remain that way.
Your employees remain in the businessA business cannot be successful without a strong team behind it, which is exactly why employees are there to stay.
Your customers keep being looked afterCustomers carry on dealing with the same people, in the same way.
Business as usual, deliberatelyWhat has worked for years will stay the same.

Talk to me

If you own a business and have started thinking about what comes next, whether that is now or a few years away, I would value the chance to talk it through with you, in confidence. You will be speaking to me directly.

or call or text 07553 820907