M&A Origination Analyst

The role

dns Corporate Advisory advises SME buy-and-build platforms. We find the businesses they should buy, then run the approach, the numbers and the deal. Origination is where every one of those deals starts, and this role owns it.

You will build and work target lists in our priority sectors: professional services (accountancy), physiotherapy, care homes and home care. You will research owners, make first contact, qualify interest, and hand a warm, evidenced opportunity to the deal team. You will sit in the meetings that follow.

What you will do

• Build target universes from Companies House, sector registers and our network.
• Research owners and businesses: ownership, succession signals, trading, premises, regulatory record.
• Make the first approach by letter, email, phone and LinkedIn, and keep accurate records of approaches and conversations.
• Prepare one-page target notes and pre-screens the deal team can act on.
• Track every conversation to an outcome. Keep follow-ups clear and up to date.
• Improve the process. If a list, a template or a tool would make the next hundred approaches better, build it.

What we look for

• A first job or one to three years in corporate finance, accountancy, research, sales or a role where you had to find people and get replies.
• Comfort with numbers and with picking up the phone.
• Curiosity about how small businesses actually make money.
• Writing that is short, clear and accurate.
• Right to work in the UK. This is an on-site role in London.

What you will gain

Work on live deals from your first month. Research businesses, speak with owners and see how an opportunity develops from the first conversation.