How to grow your business by acquisition with Jon Graves, Founder & CEO, Northern Telecom

Leeds Business Podcast

If you’ve ever considered, or want to learn more about, growing your business by acquisition, you’ll want to listen to this week’s guest, Jon Graves, Founder & CEO of Northern Telecom. Jon has grown his business by 7-fold in three years via 13 acquisitions. In part two of our discussion Jon shares with us some of the good, and bad, acquisitions that he’s done, talks us through the need to systemise his pre-pack DD, discusses the difficulties and processes in integrating acquisitions and then shares some expert advice if you want to look at building by acquisition.

INTRODUCING JON GRAVES

Jon Graves is a dynamic and tenacious business owner who has carved a formidable path in the telecommunications industry. A decade ago, driven by his entrepreneurial spirit and a vision for innovation, he founded Northern Telecom.

Jon's entrepreneurial journey is characterized by bold moves and calculated risks. With a passion for challenge, he fearlessly spearheaded 15 acquisitions, often rescuing insolvent companies through pre-pack deals. These strategic manoeuvres not only expanded Northern Telecom's reach but also cemented its reputation as a major player in the competitive market.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:02:00] Examples of buying via pre-pack (good and bad)

[00:12:30] Systemising pre-pack due diligence

[00:15:45] The change in the business through acquisition

[00:19:30] The difficulties in integrating acquisitions

[00:25:30] Final advice for building by acquisition

KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• The next 12 months is going to be a fantastic time if you want to buy by pre-pack
• You won’t get any time at all to evaluate a pre-pack; you need to be ready to
• You can’t save every business
• I would never start a business from scratch now

BEST MOMENTS

“We doubled revenue over night and it only cost £100,000”

“We haven’t caused the business to become distressed; we’re trying to help save jobs”

“Northern Telecom as a brand name doesn’t make much sense in Bournemouth”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

Website: https://www.northerntelecom.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangraves1/

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ABOUT YOUR HOST

Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up,

with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years

later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale

and exit.

As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now

works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere

between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of

ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what

they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps

Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and

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enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead.

Phil has appeared as a guest on over 60 podcasts, webinars

and interviews, from around the whole globe, talking on a variety of business

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