Phil shares how he moved from unemployment and personal pressure to acquiring a £7m transport business using invoice finance, company cash, asset refinancing, deferred consideration, and direct seller relationship building.
Listen to the EpisodeEpisode 235 | Runtime: 30:48 | Audio Episode
Hear Phil explain how he sourced, structured, financed, and completed his first major acquisition in the UK transport sector.
Three acquisition lessons from a first time buyer who completed a multi million pound transport deal.
Phil sent two targeted letters, followed up properly, built credibility with sellers and brokers, and turned a single off market conversation into a substantial acquisition opportunity.
The £1.7m purchase used invoice finance, cash already in the business, deferred consideration, and later asset refinancing rather than relying on Phil's own capital.
Phil pushed conversations forward, travelled to meet sellers in person, negotiated finance terms, walked away from weak deals, and kept building a buy and build pipeline.
This episode follows Phil's first major acquisition, a £7m turnover trucking and transport company with 32 tractor units, trailers, an on site garage, and around £700k in profit. Before the deal, Phil was looking after his daughter full time after a marriage breakup, but used direct outreach, seller conversations, and acquisition training to build momentum.
Phil explains the deal mechanics in plain terms. The agreed price was £1.7m, with £1m paid on completion through invoice discounting and cash in the target company's bank account, while the remaining balance was structured as deferred consideration over five years. After completion, he refinanced trucks and released further capital to support growth, proving why asset backed businesses can be attractive acquisition targets when the structure is right.
The conversation also covers the attitude required to get deals done. Phil discusses meeting sellers in person, avoiding shortcuts, driving the process instead of waiting for vendors, negotiating finance providers, walking away when due diligence changes the economics, and building a management team before adding further acquisitions. It is a direct case study for buyers who want to use acquisition strategy to create deal flow, buy larger businesses, and scale through a buy and build model.
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