How UK Owner-Managed Businesses Grow by Acquisition Without an M&A Team

Fractional M&A for Owner-Managed Businesses: finding, structuring and integrating acquisitions without an in-house deal team

Guy Bartlett has advised on more than 150 deals across owner-managed companies, and he argues that buying other businesses is not reserved for firms big enough to employ a deal team. He cites one private equity-backed group whose four-person M&A team bought around 200 companies in two years, a payroll most £5 million businesses would find expensive and risky to carry. Without that team, owners end up doing it themselves: one he worked with was chasing business brokers and taking calls with Australia, America and Hungary while still running his company. Guy explains the fractional model he runs at Fidelis Advisory, the same idea as a part-time finance director: an outside team that finds the target, structures the deal and handles the integration, hired six months at a time and dropped if it does not deliver. Listeners leave knowing whether their business is ready to grow by buying, and which parts of the work to hand over.

About Guy Bartlett

Guy Bartlett, podcast guest

Fractional M&A Expert Helping Business Owners Grow Through Acquisition

Nearly 30 years In business£145M Transition revenue acquired by coached clients42 years Military service2006 First deal

Guy Bartlett is a UK-based entrepreneur, M&A expert, military veteran, and founder of Fidelis Advisory, a Cheshire-based fractional M&A firm that helps ambitious business owners grow through acquisition, exit successfully, and navigate the complex realities of buying, selling, and transitioning companies.

Guy is not simply an adviser commenting from the sidelines. He leads a team of acquisition experts with hands-on experience in strategy, sourcing, negotiation, finance, deal structure, and post-acquisition integration.

With nearly 30 years in business and more than two decades of transaction experience, Guy brings a rare combination of commercial insight, deal-making expertise, and people-first leadership. His career began in sales, marketing, direct response, and data-driven growth, where he helped scale an agency from £32,000 in fee revenue to almost £7 million in turnover within six years. That journey gave him his first exposure to shareholder structures, acquisitions, and the realities of building business value beyond day-to-day revenue.

Since completing his first acquisition in 2006, Guy has bought, built, advised on, and guided businesses across multiple sectors. He later founded Business Buyers Club, where he helped entrepreneurs understand acquisition as a serious growth strategy, with coached clients acquiring an estimated £145 million in transition revenue.

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