Dealmakers Podcast

Buying Five Businesses With Deferred Consideration

Andy Doyle explains how he used seller conversations, structured payments, direct outreach, and management delegation to buy five businesses and grow turnover from 600,000 pounds to more than 2.3 million pounds.

Listen to the Episode

Episode 170  |  Runtime: 19:03  |  Audio Episode

Listen to the Episode

Hear Andy Doyle's live mastermind discussion on buying five businesses, using deferred consideration, negotiating with sellers, and building a group beyond the owner operator stage.

Episode

170

Runtime

19:03

Topic

Deferred consideration acquisitions

Format

Live mastermind guest interview

Key Takeaways

Three acquisition lessons from Andy Doyle's move from agency owner to group buyer.

Seller Motivation Drives Deal Structure

Andy's first acquisition worked because the owner wanted a different life, creating room for a low upfront payment, deferred monthly payments, and a later discounted settlement.

Outreach Creates Real Deal Flow

Andy returned to the same direct letter process, sent targeted outreach to business owners, and generated acquisition conversations without waiting for brokers or public listings.

Management Capacity Enables More Deals

By adding a managing director, sales support, and account management, Andy removed himself from daily delivery and made acquisitions his main focus.

Episode Breakdown

This episode features Jonathan Jay in a live mastermind session with Andy Doyle, a digital agency owner who joined the business acquisition mastermind programme in 2018. At the time, Andy had a busy agency turning over around 600,000 pounds a year, but he had reached a plateau and was still heavily involved in client work, project management, invoicing, and delivery.

Andy explains how his first acquisition was structured around seller motivation, available cash in the business, modest upfront consideration, staged payments, and monthly deferred consideration. He also describes how one direct conversation led to a reduced settlement, removing around 85,000 pounds from the outstanding price after he offered a lump sum to close the balance early.

The discussion then moves into pipeline building, negotiation mindset, direct outreach, and the operational shift required to become an acquisition led entrepreneur. Andy shares how the group reached more than 2.3 million pounds in turnover, why he hired an managing director, and how repeatable process, CRM discipline, and a clear buyer mindset helped turn acquisition from a side activity into the main growth strategy.

Best For

  • Agency owners who have plateaued and want growth through acquisition.
  • Buyers structuring deals with deferred consideration and staged payments.
  • Acquisition entrepreneurs learning how to identify seller motivation.
  • Operators building a group structure across complementary service businesses.
  • Dealmakers who need a repeatable outreach, CRM, and negotiation process.

Questions Answered In This Episode

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