Online event
From founder to exit: Building a business worth buying and using M&A to get there faster
Tuesday 14 July at 11:00AM
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Build your business with the end in mind and use M&A strategically to accelerate growth and maximise long-term value.
What you’ll learn
- Identify which of the four business archetypes you are currently building — and what each is realistically worth at exit.
- Understand the practical levers (recurring revenue, owner dependency, customer concentration, financial hygiene) that move a business from a 3x to a 6x EBITDA valuation.
- Evaluate M&A as a growth strategy — when to buy versus build, how UK SME deals are typically structured and funded, and what bolt-on acquisitions look like in practice.
Description
Most founders build first and think about exit last — but the choices you make in year one shape what your business is worth in year ten. This session, hosted with the Department for Business and Trade’s Business Academy, brings together two of the most overlooked levers of business value: building with the end in mind, and using mergers and acquisitions to grow faster than organic growth alone allows. Ben Treleaven, CEO of Rothbridge Investments and a former Sunday Times Fast Track 100 founder, will walk SME owners through the four business archetypes (lifestyle, income, asset, legacy), what each one is actually worth, and why so many UK founders accidentally build the wrong one. He will then demystify M&A as a growth strategy — showing how SMEs can buy capability, customers and market share rather than build them — with practical examples drawn from live UK transactions in construction, IT services, recruitment and marketing.
Speakers
Ben Treleaven
CEO & Founder, Rothbridge Investments Limited
Ben Treleaven is the founder and CEO of Rothbridge Investments, a sell-side M&A advisory firm specialising in founder-led UK SMEs. Before Rothbridge, Ben co-founded and exited ISO Spaces, a modular construction business that reached #10 on the Sunday Times Fast Track 100. He holds a BSc in Business Studies and Computer Science from Brunel University and now advises business owners across construction, IT services, recruitment and marketing on growth, acquisition and exit strategy.