Meridian Corporate Finance Ltd

We work with owners and management teams, advising them throughout their business journey, including raising finance, making investments, MBOs and ultimately selling.

Here at Meridian, our “next step thinking” approach is all about providing focussed guidance as deal strategists, project managers and transaction negotiators, based upon our technical knowledge of various types of transactions and years of deal experience.

To advise you on best outcomes, we need to understand all aspects of what makes your business tick - not just the numbers!

You will only sell your business once; appoint the experts

Headline valuation is obviously key but the terms of the sale, structure of the offer and the overall deliverability need to be carefully considered and planned. All too often a buyer will potentially have differing views on your requirement to stay in the business going forward and these also need to be addressed early on.

Appointing an adviser early should enable you to continue to focus on the running of the business as opposed to the running of a sales process. A good adviser should help steer you through the process, helping you to prepare your business for sale, present it to potential purchasers and represent you in all negotiations. This should de-personalise the discussions and ensure the debate around value, deal structuring and deliverability remains at an arm's length, removing any emotion from the process; particularly if you are contemplating selling to your management team.

At Meridian, we are hands-on advisers. With your help, we aim to gain a deep understanding of your business and its market. This knowledge ensures that we can carry out a carefully targeted search for the right buyer. Once we have researched the market, we then agree a marketing strategy, distribute information on a controlled and confidential basis, assess potential purchasers’ financial and management status and negotiate offers.

We understand the commercial sensitivity of placing your business up for sale. Our methodology is to employ a “targeted” approach to potential acquirers rather than approaching every single company in the sector, without undertaking detailed research on their financial ability and motivation to acquire your business.

Once your buyer is identified, we manage the correspondence and negotiations with them which will result in a signed offer agreement known as a "Heads of Terms". After agreeing the Heads of Terms, we manage the due diligence and legal process to completion, all the time providing hands on support, conducting the negotiations on your behalf.

We also work with businesses that have already received an offer and even at this late stage, we can offer significant input and value around improving terms and overall deal deliverability and structure; we have numerous examples. Our execution expertise ensures that the deal is completed in a smooth and timely manner.

Our team

Michael Barcia, Director

Having grown up in London and Chesterfield, Michael went to Bangor University and then moved to Liverpool to train as an accountant with Ernst & Young. Upon qualifying he joined Kelloggs (counting cornflakes) as a financial controller and after two years with Kelloggs he made a "dream" move into corporate finance, to work with entrepreneurial businesses.

In 2002 he established the forerunner for Meridian, in partnership with a regional law firm. Michael asked Darren to join him in 2003, wanting to add Darren's banking and VC skill set to his accountancy, industry and corporate finance experience. During 2005 they changed the name to Meridian Corporate Finance and completed their own MBO of Meridian in October 2008.

Michael holds the Corporate Finance qualification and is retained by a number of clients as a non-executive Director giving impact into strategy with an obvious focus on the numbers given his background.

Darren Thompson, Director

With over 25 years in banking, venture capital and corporate finance, Darren is recognised as a highly experienced deal maker, non-executive director, advisory specialist and investor. He has extensive Board level background on companies that are owner managed as well as venture capital backed and was previously a member of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) hi-tech committee.

Darren has advised on a significant number of management buy-outs, private equity transactions and business sales, both domestically and internationally. He particularly enjoys working with entrepreneurial management teams and has multiple awards for Dealmaker of the Year from the Solent Deals Awards - as voted by his peers in the region.

Philip Mettam, Director

With an academic background in science, Philip joined Meridian in 2010 and has built a career providing owner managed businesses with advice on mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs / management buy-ins, the raising of finance and corporate restructuring.

As well as providing transactional advice to clients, Philip holds several Directorships providing longer term management and board level support as an investor and sector specialist.

During his career with Meridian, Philip has won multiple awards both individually and as part of the team at Meridian including 'Corporate Finance Adviser of the Year'.

Prabin Sunar, Associate Director

Prabin is an ICAEW qualified chartered accountant and has specialised in practicing Corporate Finance since 2018, providing owner managed businesses with M&A, MBO and Fundraising advice in the South of England.

Prabin has completed several transactions across sectors including TMT and Business Services, and has a keen interest in the technology space. He also assists in managing Meridian's investments, holding several board observer positions and providing longer-term strategic input to portfolio businesses.

Prabin is an integral member of the award winning CF team at Meridian and was voted Young Deal Maker of the Year in 2023 and 2024 by his regional peers.

Mrs. Kelly Cheales, Office Manager and Director

Kelly has been with Meridian since 2007 and was made Director in 2020. She is responsible for the complete administration duties of Meridian which includes payroll, accounting, compliance, IT, marketing, event management, HR as well as the day to day running of the business.

Over the years, Kelly’s position with Meridian has developed into a significant and unique role, where she is able to provide supporting roles to all team members as well as assist in sector and acquirer research.

With over 20 years experience in her field, Kelly is highly professional and manages Meridian with complete efficiency and organisation.

George Forgan, Associate

George joined the Meridian Team in July 2023 as an Associate.

He is a talented and motivated individual with a strong background in business management earned through his degree at the University of East Anglia.

George brings with him a fresh perspective, strong academic foundation, and a drive to excel.

Toby Uren, Associate

Toby joined the Meridian Team as an Associate in July 2024, bringing with him a solid foundation in accounting and finance.

He holds the AAT Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting and is now advancing his expertise by studying towards the ACA qualification.

Toby’s professional knowledge is already proving a great asset, and he is fast becoming an integral member of the team, providing support to the directors across various mandates.

Mrs. Honor Hornsby, Associate

Honor is a trainee solicitor who joined the Meridian Team in September 2024 on a six month secondment from law firm Trethowans LLP.

Honor originally completed her undergraduate degree in Music at Durham University achieving First Class Honors before converting to Law. Honor then moved to London to complete her GDL and LPC, achieving a Distinction classification in each and receiving the Career Commitment Scholarship in both years. Honor brings a strong academic background and is known for her positive and diligent approach to problem solving.

Meridian's secondment programme launched in 2008, and Honor is our 30th secondee.

Jake Bowdler, Associate

Jake is a trainee solicitor seconded from Shoosmiths to the Meridian team until March 2025.

With experience garnered as a trainee and paralegal, Jake possesses several years of expertise in corporate transactions. He has acted for private equity firms, founders and institutions on disposals, accumulating comprehensive knowledge from both sides of a transaction. His expertise enables him to manage transactions efficiently, while carefully aligning with the client's commercial objectives. Clients have commended Jake for his resilience in particularly complex transactions.

Meridian's secondment programme launched in 2008, and Jake is our 31st secondee.

Address: Unit 4 Manor Farm Offices, Flexford Road, North Baddesley, Southampton, Hampshire, SO52 9DF, United Kingdom

Phone: +44 (0)23 8026 8793
Email: info@meridiancf.com