Jonathan Jay speaks with Andrew Norton about scaling a training group through five acquisitions, using deferred consideration, handling service business finance, and why larger deals can be easier than smaller ones.
Episode 214 | Runtime: 40:02 | Audio Episode
Hear Andrew Norton explain how he bought five businesses in 15 months, grew revenue from around £500,000 to £2.5 million, and structured deals in the UK training sector.
Episode
214
Runtime
40:02
Topic
Buy and build acquisitions
Format
Founder interview and live webinar discussion
Three acquisition lessons from a founder who completed five deals in just over 15 months.
Andrew moved from around £500,000 to £2.5 million in group revenue by acquiring established training businesses rather than waiting for slow organic growth.
With few physical assets available for finance, Andrew structured deals using deferred payments, seller flexibility, existing debt, and cash flow from the acquired companies.
Larger targets often bring stronger systems, better records, management layers, and less owner dependence, which can make diligence and integration more controlled.
This episode follows Jonathan Jay's conversation with Andrew Norton, who bought five businesses in just over 15 months after selling a childcare business and seeing a buy and build strategy from the inside. Andrew explains how that experience changed his view of growth, why he now favours acquisition over startups, and how buying existing companies gave him customers, teams, revenue, and operational capability from day one.
The discussion moves into real deal structure. Andrew describes acquiring training businesses across childcare, holistic therapies, procurement, supply, engineering, manufacturing, hair and beauty, and online regulated training. Because these were service businesses without major fixed assets, traditional asset finance was limited, so he relied on deferred consideration, cash flow, seller motivation, and taking on manageable existing debt as part of the deal economics.
Jonathan and Andrew also examine mindset, first deal confidence, and why larger acquisitions can be easier than small ones. Andrew explains how the first small acquisition created credibility, how larger targets brought stronger management and systems, and why his next stage is focused on better due diligence, finance director support, and building toward a group with meaningful EBITDA and strategic exit options.
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