Vertex launches to advise ‘under-served’ SME owners

Vertex, a new corporate advisory firm created to advise “under-served” owners of smaller companies on their exit journey as well as supporting growing businesses with their funding aspirations, has officially launched.

Vertex will cover the UK from its headquarters in Manchester and offices in Birmingham and London, focusing on acting for SMEs across all sectors.

Co-founders Marc Braterman, Martin Birch and Yasin Shariff have recruited James Darlington from private equity firm Maven Capital Partners as managing director of Vertex.

Josh Malyan has joined as deal adviser, also from Maven.

Darlington has 15 years’ corporate advisory and equity investment experience. He spent seven years at Maven, where he was an investment director, and previously worked at EY.

Over the past seven years he has led, completed and exited investments as well as sitting on numerous boards which Maven has backed.

Vertex is focusing on providing sell-side advice to companies with annual underlying profits of up to £2m.

Alongside this, Vertex will provide equity fundraising support to companies seeking capital for expansion.

Typically, businesses advised by Vertex will have an enterprise value of between £1m and £10m.

Darlington said: “This segment of the market is currently under-served by the UK corporate finance advisory community and we are well-placed to fill the gap.

“We are committed to delivering an offering that aligns with business owners’ objectives and supports them in their next important step, be that seeking capital to fuel growth or exploring options to achieve an exit.”

Birch added: “This balanced team has the insights and knowhow to help navigate companies through their next important stage. We’re excited to share our experiences and support other entrepreneurs like us with a transparent and jargon-free advisory approach.

“It’s fantastic to have someone of the calibre of James heading Vertex, as his broad sector experience at all levels of the business cycle will ensure our clients get exceptional advice. All of the co-founders are confident that, with our approach, we can make Vertex a huge success. We are pleased to hit the ground running, having already engaged several clients and with others in the pipeline.”