UK Acquisition Research Specialist — M&A / SME Due Diligence & Deal Sourcing

UK Acquisition Research Specialist — M&A / SME Due Diligence & Deal Sourcing PLEASE READ BEFORE APPLYING This is not a generic lead-generation, data-entry or virtual-assistant position. We are building a disciplined acquisition pipeline for established UK SMEs. We need a researcher who can investigate a company deeply enough to help an acquirer decide: "Is this business worth spending more time on?" We care far more about accuracy, evidence and commercial judgment than the number of companies produced. If your approach is mainly scraping Google, copying company websites or generating generic AI summaries, this role is not for you. ABOUT THE WORK The focus is currently UK SMEs operating in: Fire safety compliance & maintenance and selected adjacent compliance/service sectors. We are particularly interested in businesses with characteristics such as: • established operating history; • recurring or contractual revenue; • commercial customers; • defensible service relationships; • manageable customer concentration; • genuine operational capability; • potential to operate beyond the founder; • credible financial performance; • realistic acquisition potential. However, sector fit does not automatically mean acquisition fit. Your job is to investigate the evidence and identify both the attractive features and the reasons we may ultimately reject a company. WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU For each company, you must be capable of investigating: 1. Legal identity Verify: • exact legal entity; • Companies House number; • incorporation date; • current status; • SIC codes; • registered office; • directors; • PSCs; • website/domain; • potential identity confusion. The Companies House company number is the primary identity key. Do not assume two similarly named companies are the same business. 2. Trading history Compare company claims against public evidence. For example: Website: "20 years of experience." Current Companies House entity: incorporated 6 years ago. You must not simply label this "fraud" or automatically accept the marketing claim. Investigate possible explanations such as: • predecessor company; • previous company name; • acquisition; • reorganisation; • trading history under another entity. 3. Ownership and corporate structure Research: • PSCs; • directors; • ownership/control; • corporate PSCs; • parent companies; • subsidiaries; • group structures; • ownership changes; • relevant Companies House filings. We specifically want researchers who can uncover situations where a company appears independent but may actually belong to a wider group. 4. Management and founder dependency Investigate: • founder; • owner; • managing director; • senior management; • operations management; • technical management; • supervisors; • employees where publicly available; • evidence of delegated responsibility. A critical rule: Absence of public evidence is not proof that something does not exist. For example: ❌ "There is no Operations Manager." if you simply could not find one. Better: "No publicly verifiable evidence of an Operations Manager was identified." That distinction is extremely important. 5. Services and business model Determine: • what the company actually sells; • core services; • customer type; • B2B/B2C; • geographic footprint; • compliance services; • maintenance; • inspection/testing; • one-off work; • repeat work; • contractual work. We want to understand the actual economic model, not simply repeat the company's "About Us" page. 6. Recurring revenue Investigate evidence of: • maintenance contracts; • service agreements; • retainers; • PPM; • repeat customers; • contract lengths; • framework agreements; • long-term customer relationships. Recurring revenue is important to our acquisition thesis. However: Never invent a recurring-revenue percentage. If public evidence cannot establish that 60% of revenue is recurring, write: Recurring revenue percentage: Not publicly available. You may identify evidence suggesting recurring revenue, but you must distinguish evidence from inference. 7. Financial analysis Where accounts are available, investigate: • turnover; • gross profit; • operating profit; • profit before tax; • profit after tax; • cash; • net assets; • liabilities; • debt; • deferred income where disclosed; • employee numbers where available; • relevant filing history. Financial terminology must be accurate. Do not confuse: operating profit with: profit before tax or: profit for the financial year. If information isn't publicly available, say so. 8. Customer concentration Look for evidence of: • major customers; • named contracts; • frameworks; • large customers; • customer dependence; • concentration risk. Our preference is generally for businesses without obvious dependence on a single customer. But if the percentage cannot be established: Customer concentration: Not publicly available. Do not guess. 9. Industry and accreditation research Where relevant, investigate organisations and credentials such as: • BAFE; • FIA; • NICEIC; • NAPIT; • ASFP; • IFE; • other relevant professional/regulatory bodies. Don't simply list badges. Explain what the evidence tells us about: • capability; • legitimacy; • market position; • service scope; • customer credibility. 10. Contradiction hunting This is a major part of the role. Compare information across: • company website; • Companies House; • accounts; • LinkedIn; • professional bodies; • reputable directories; • other credible sources. We want you to actively look for contradictions. Examples: Website claims 20 years → current entity only 6 years old. Website suggests a substantial management team → public evidence does not establish one. Company appears independent → Companies House reveals group ownership. Website suggests national operation → evidence suggests a highly local business. Do not hide these discrepancies. Surface them. EVIDENCE STANDARD Every important conclusion should distinguish between: VERIFIED Directly supported by credible evidence. INFERRED / ESTIMATED A reasoned conclusion based on evidence but not directly verified. UNKNOWN / NOT PUBLICLY AVAILABLE The information could not reasonably be established from available public evidence. We have a zero-hallucination standard. AI can be used to accelerate research. AI output itself is not evidence. If you use AI, you remain responsible for checking the underlying source. CONTACT RESEARCH Where publicly available and appropriate, distinguish clearly between: DIRECT DECISION-MAKER CONTACT Named owner/director's publicly available direct contact. GENERAL COMPANY CONTACT Main company telephone/email. NOT PUBLICLY AVAILABLE No reliable direct contact identified. Do not label a generic company email as the owner's personal/direct contact. ACQUISITION THINKING You are not expected to make the final acquisition decision. Fernraven makes that decision. Your role is to explain: • what looks attractive; • what looks risky; • what remains unknown; • what contradicts other evidence; • what requires further investigation; • whether the business appears transferable; • whether the founder appears operationally essential; • why the company might be worth pursuing; • why it might ultimately be rejected. A strong business can still be a poor acquisition target. For example: • excessive founder dependency; • group ownership; • weak recurring revenue; • customer concentration; • unsuitable scale; • poor financial quality; • operational complexity; • lack of transferability. We expect you to recognise these distinctions. AI TOOLS You may use: • ChatGPT; • Claude; • Perplexity; • Gemini; • other research tools. We are not anti-AI. In fact, we want researchers who know how to use AI intelligently. But: AI should make you faster, not less accurate. Every material AI-derived claim must be checked against the underlying source. WHAT WE VALUE We strongly prefer: 5 excellent findings over 50 shallow findings. We value researchers who: • question the obvious answer; • verify sources; • trace ownership; • understand Companies House; • understand financial statements; • detect contradictions; • preserve uncertainty; • think commercially; • understand acquisition risk; • write clearly; • explain their reasoning. WHAT WE DO NOT WANT Please do not apply if your main experience is: • basic lead generation; • scraping lists; • data entry; • copying websites; • generic virtual assistance; • producing AI summaries without verification; • guessing financial information; • mass-producing company profiles. SELECTION PROCESS We are looking for one strong long-term research partner. The selection process is deliberately structured. Stage 1 — Application screening Your written application and answers to the screening questions will be reviewed for: • analytical ability; • evidence discipline; • financial understanding; • acquisition thinking; • attention to detail; • ability to follow instructions. Stage 2 — Shortlist Only candidates who demonstrate genuine relevance will progress. Stage 3 — Interview / discussion We may discuss your research methodology, previous experience and approach to ambiguous evidence. Stage 4 — Controlled paid research assignment A small number of finalists may be offered a paid, controlled research assignment using our methodology. This allows us to assess actual research quality rather than relying solely on CVs and proposals. Stage 5 — Selection The strongest candidate may then be offered additional paid research work across the remaining pilot companies, with potential for an ongoing relationship if quality remains high. We are not hiring for maximum volume. We are looking for one researcher we can trust. IMPORTANT APPLICATION INSTRUCTION Start your proposal with: EVIDENCE FIRST Then answer all five screening questions. Generic proposals that do not follow these instructions will not be prioritised. IDEAL BACKGROUND Experience in one or more of the following is highly relevant: • M&A; • private equity; • investment research; • corporate finance; • commercial due diligence; • business intelligence; • corporate intelligence; • acquisition research; • market intelligence; • UK SME research; • financial analysis. Experience researching UK private companies is strongly preferred. Fire safety/compliance experience is an advantage but not mandatory if your research and analytical ability are excellent. LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITY The initial engagement is deliberately controlled. If you demonstrate consistent quality, there is potential for: • additional companies; • larger research batches; • ongoing acquisition research; • deeper target investigations; • long-term collaboration. The ultimate objective is to help build a reliable acquisition intelligence pipeline. 7. Screening questions Upwork currently allows five screening questions, so don't waste them. (Upwork Support) Use exactly these five: Question 1 A UK company's website says: "We have been established for 20 years." Companies House shows that the current legal entity was incorporated six years ago. What are the possible explanations, and what would you investigate before deciding whether this is a contradiction? Question 2 A fire-safety company advertises maintenance contracts and servicing. Can you conclude that 60% of its revenue is recurring? Explain exactly what you would and would not claim. Question 3 You cannot find an Operations Manager or Technical Manager on the company's website or LinkedIn. Does this prove the founder is operationally essential? Explain your reasoning. Question 4 A company's accounts show £1.5m turnover, £200k operating profit and £165k profit before tax. Which figures would you examine when assessing the underlying business and why? Question 5 Give one example of a company that could be an excellent business but a poor acquisition target. Explain why.