Evans Acquisition Opportunity Engine
Find the Businesses Worth Buying Before You Waste Time Chasing the Wrong OnesAcquisition intelligence, target identification and monitoring
Growth does not always have to come one customer at a time.
Acquisition Opportunity Engine continuously searches for businesses that fit your acquisition strategy, researches them and helps prioritise where your attention should go.
Intelligence
£695 + VAT
per month
Managed
£1,295 + VAT
per month
Initial three-month term · then monthly rolling · no setup, success or transaction fee
How do I find businesses to acquire?
Start by defining what an acquisition must achieve, then turn it into criteria around sector, geography, customer base, capability, scale and business model. Search both businesses actively marketed for sale and companies that fit the strategy but are not on the market — treating the latter as potential targets, not assumed sellers. Acquisition Opportunity Engine does this continuously, from £695 + VAT per month.
- On-market listings and potential strategic targets, always clearly distinguished
- Strategic fit explained in plain categories — never fake precision
- Humans approve every next step; no automatic outreach
Acquisition Opportunity Engine provides commercial acquisition research and target intelligence. It does not replace legal advice, financial due diligence, tax advice, regulated investment advice, professional valuation or transaction-specific corporate-finance advice.
The problem
Most acquisition searches look at a very narrow universe.
Buyers often rely on whatever happens to reach them. That tends to mean seeing the same opportunities as everyone else — and missing businesses that fit the strategy better but are not advertised.
Typical sources
- Known competitors
- Broker lists
- Businesses already publicly marketed for sale
- Existing adviser networks
- Inbound approaches
- Manual, occasional searches
Acquisition Opportunity Engine builds a systematic acquisition pipeline from your actual strategic criteria instead.
How it works
From a defined mandate to an approved next step.
01
Define what you want to buy
02
Continuously identify potential targets
03
Research and qualify them
04
Prioritise the strongest commercial fit
05
Human approval
06
Approach / investigate
Your acquisition mandate
Onboarding captures what you want to buy — as must have, preferred and exclude criteria. No buyer is forced into the same template.
- Target sectors and subsectors
- Geography
- Revenue range where known
- Employee range
- Business model, B2B / B2C
- Recurring revenue preference
- Customer type
- Products and services
- Capabilities sought
- Distribution reach
- Technology or manufacturing capability
- Certifications where relevant
- Ownership characteristics where public and lawful
- Strategic rationale
- Deal size band where appropriate
- Desired level of control
- Companies or types to exclude
Why you want to acquire
Your strategic objective shapes how targets are prioritised.
- Enter a new market
- Add customers
- Add capability
- Add products
- Add services
- Add technology
- Add geographic coverage
- Add distribution
- Add manufacturing capacity
- Add talent
- Consolidate a fragmented market
- Create cross-sell opportunity
- Create scale
- Vertical integration
- Horizontal expansion
An acquisition thesis — illustrative examples
“Identify UK commercial landscaping businesses with established B2B customer bases, credible regional presence and capabilities that could complement the buyer’s existing residential landscaping operation.”
“Identify specialist engineering businesses in Northern Europe with customer access, technical capability or distribution relationships that could accelerate the buyer’s European expansion.”
Draft your own thesis with the free tool →On-market and off-market
Two kinds of opportunity. Never confused.
For sale — on-market listing
Where a public listing shows a business is for sale, Evans records it as such, with the source and — only where publicly stated — asking price, revenue, profit or EBITDA, reason for sale and listing date. Missing financial information is never invented.
Potential strategic target
A company identified because it appears to match your acquisition criteria. There may be no evidence that its owners are interested in selling, and it is never labelled “for sale”.
Where targets come from
Legitimate sources only. Evans does not claim access to proprietary databases it has not licensed and does not scrape sources in breach of their terms.
- Company websites
- Public company information and Companies House filings where relevant
- Business and trade directories
- Industry associations and sector publications
- Broker listings and marketplaces
- News and public announcements
- Corporate databases where lawfully licensed
- Other legitimate public sources
What you receive
Every target answers eight questions.
Each target record separates public fact, Evans interpretation and unknown — requires validation, keeps its sources, and shows when it was researched, when sources were last checked and when it last changed materially.
01
What is it?
02
Why does it fit the mandate?
03
What could it add?
04
What evidence supports that?
05
What do we not know?
06
What could be a problem?
07
Is it known to be for sale?
08
What should happen next?
Strategic fit
Plain categories, with the reasoning. No fake precision.
Assessed against your mandate
- Sector fit
- Customer fit
- Geographic fit
- Capability fit
- Product / service fit
- Business model fit
- Scale fit
- Strategic synergy
- Cross-sell potential
- Integration complexity
- Data completeness
Rated as
- Strong fit
- Good fit
- Possible fit
- Lower fit
- Requires more information
Fit is not value.
A strategically attractive company can still be:
- Overpriced
- Financially weak
- Legally problematic
- Operationally difficult
- Culturally incompatible
- Commercially unattractive after diligence
Target fit is never presented as an acquisition recommendation or a valuation.
Watchlist
Strong fits that are not actionable yet.
Keep them in view. Monitoring covers meaningful public changes where the sources allow it — filings, ownership or director changes, new locations, listings and announcements. Monitoring is only claimed where it can actually be done.
Acquisition signals
Changes worth a second look.
- Business newly listed for sale
- Founder succession indicators in public filings
- Management or director change
- Ownership change
- Strategic review
- Restructuring
- New investment
A signal is never treated as proof that a company wants to sell.
Target status
One pipeline, from first sight to decision.
- New
- Review
- Approved for further research
- Rejected
- Watch
- Approach approved
- Contacted
- Conversation
- NDA / information request
- Diligence
- Deal process
- Completed
- No longer pursuing
Human approval
Technology does the legwork. People decide.
Technology can
- Search
- Organise
- Compare
- Research
- Monitor
- Prioritise
Humans decide
- Whether a target is commercially attractive
- Whether further research is warranted
- Whether contact should occur
- Whether advisers are required
- Whether diligence should begin
- Whether a transaction should proceed
No target is contacted without your explicit approval.
Intelligence vs Managed
Two service levels. Same clear boundaries.
Acquisition Opportunity Engine — Intelligence
£695 + VAT
per month · initial three-month term
Evans finds, researches and prioritises the targets. You decide what happens next.
- Defined acquisition mandate
- Ongoing target discovery
- Target research
- Strategic-fit assessment
- Prioritised acquisition opportunities
- Target watchlist
- Regular intelligence updates
- Platform / dashboard access as it becomes available
Acquisition Opportunity Engine — Managed
£1,295 + VAT
per month · initial three-month term
Everything in Intelligence, plus Evans human support around the pipeline.
- Everything in Intelligence
- Deeper target research
- Target prioritisation
- Commercial interpretation
- Research refinement
- Preparation for approved outreach
- Ongoing mandate refinement
- Pipeline management
No setup fee, success fee, transaction fee or equity. Any transaction support Evans may offer in future would be scoped and priced separately.
Managed does not mean M&A advisory.
Managed adds commercial research, deeper qualification, pipeline support and approved contact preparation. It does not include:
- Business valuation
- Financial due diligence
- Legal due diligence
- Tax structuring
- Regulated investment advice
- Transaction financing
- SPA negotiation
- Legal transaction management
- Formal corporate-finance advice
Where needed, use appropriately qualified professional advisers.
Approved outreach (Managed)
For targets you approve, Evans can prepare discreet, commercially appropriate approaches — never mass “we want to buy your company” messages, and never claiming a business is for sale without evidence.
- Owner / director identification where lawful and appropriate
- Public business contact information
- Personalised, discreet acquisition approach
- Email copy and call brief
- Strategic rationale
- Conversation preparation
Possible direction: “We are exploring strategic growth opportunities in [sector] and believe there may be a potential fit worth discussing.” The real wording depends on the buyer, target, relationship and rationale.
Reporting
Useful acquisition intelligence, not decorative slide decks. Each update shows:
- New targets
- Strongest current targets
- Watchlist changes
- New signals
- Rejected targets
- Research gaps
- Approved next actions
Client dashboard access within the Evans Platform is being developed and is offered as it becomes available; it is not presented as live today.
Who it is for
Buyers who understand acquisition — and want a better pipeline.
- Established SMEs pursuing acquisitions
- Buy-and-build businesses
- Private-equity-backed portfolio companies
- Corporate development teams
- Groups consolidating fragmented sectors
- Entrepreneurs pursuing strategic acquisitions
- Searchers and acquisition entrepreneurs
- Owners seeking complementary capability
- Businesses entering new regions through acquisition
- Businesses seeking additional customer bases
- Businesses seeking manufacturing or operational capability
- Businesses seeking technology, IP, talent or capability
It is not designed for first-time buyers who are unfamiliar with acquisition risk and have no professional advisers lined up.
Illustrative examples
How it could work in practice.
Hypothetical scenarios — not clients, deals or results.
Commercial landscaping expansion
- Buyer
- An established landscaping company.
- Objective
- Increase its commercial customer base and geographic reach.
- Mandate
- Identify smaller commercial landscaping businesses in adjacent regions.
- The Engine
- Potential strategic targets, their customer mix, geography and capabilities, public company information, a strategic-fit view and the research gaps.
It does not determine whether any acquisition should proceed.
Manufacturer entering Europe
- Buyer
- A UK specialist manufacturer.
- Objective
- Accelerate entry into selected European markets.
- Mandate
- Local distributors or manufacturers with existing customers, local relationships, sales capability and complementary products.
- The Engine
- Market Entry helps decide where expansion makes sense; Acquisition Opportunity Engine identifies companies that could potentially provide the route.
Illustrative only.
Adding a service capability
- Buyer
- An established B2B company.
- Objective
- Customer Expansion Engine has surfaced repeated customer demand for an adjacent service.
- Mandate
- The choice is build internally, partner or acquire.
- The Engine
- Acquisition Opportunity Engine identifies businesses already providing the capability, so the buy option can be weighed against the others.
Illustrative only — acquisition is not assumed to be the right answer.
The Evans Engines
Different growth questions. Different routes.
Opportunity Engine
Find your next customer.
Searches outside your existing customer base for new commercial opportunities.
Explore Opportunity Engine →Customer Expansion Engine
Find your next opportunity inside your existing customers.
Searches inside your existing customer base for additional commercial opportunities.
Explore Customer Expansion Engine →Acquisition Opportunity Engine
Find businesses worth buying.
Identifies, researches and prioritises companies that could strengthen your business through acquisition.
Explore Acquisition Opportunity Engine →Partner & Distribution Engine
Who could help us sell?
Continuously identifies distributors, resellers, agents, referral and strategic partners who could help you sell more.
Explore Partner & Distribution Engine →More than one Engine
10% off two eligible Engines, 15% off three or more.
One broader commercial growth system across new customers, existing customers, acquisition and partners.
See the Multi-Engine Partner Rate →- Opportunity Engine →
Finds companies to sell to. Entering Scotland? Opportunity Engine finds Scottish customers; Acquisition Opportunity Engine identifies Scottish businesses whose acquisition could bring customers, people, infrastructure or relationships.
- Customer Expansion Engine →
May reveal demand for a service you do not provide. You can build it, partner — or investigate acquiring a company that already does it.
- Channel Creation →
Identifies a new product, service, segment or route. The next decision is build, partner or buy; this Engine supports the buy option.
- International Market Entry →
Direct entry, distributor, partner, joint venture or acquisition. Acquisition is not always the fastest or best route — but it should be assessed properly when it is plausible.
- Recruitment →
Need one specialist salesperson? Recruit. Need an entire team, customer base and capability? Acquisition may warrant investigation.
- AI & Automation →
Technology makes research more systematic — organising, classifying, monitoring and summarising. It does not replace due diligence or acquisition judgement.
Acquisition Opportunity Engine can complement the other Engines, Market Entry and Channel Creation. There are no mandatory bundles; any combined pricing is agreed separately.
Guides
Acquisition strategy, sourcing and research.
- How Do I Find Businesses to Acquire?
Finding the right business to buy is rarely as simple as browsing a catalogue. It requires a disciplined, two-track approach to sourcing.
- What is an Acquisition Thesis?
An acquisition thesis is the 'north star' of your growth strategy. Here is what it is and why it matters.
- How Off-Market Acquisitions Work
Off-market acquisitions are different from traditional business sales. Here is how to navigate the process effectively.
- How to Prioritise Acquisition Targets
Identifying targets is easy; knowing which ones to pursue first is where the strategy happens. Here is how to prioritise your acquisition pipeline.
- Build vs Buy Strategy for Growth
Growth is a requirement, but how you achieve it is a choice. We break down the commercial logic of the Build vs Buy framework.
- What is a Buy-and-Build Strategy?
Buy-and-build is a growth strategy that combines organic improvement with a series of targeted acquisitions to create a larger, more valuable group.
- How to Assess Strategic Fit Before Due Diligence
Due diligence tells you if the numbers are real. Strategic fit assessment tells you if the deal makes sense in the first place.
- What Public Acquisition Research Cannot Tell You
Public data is a map, not the terrain. Before you commit to an acquisition strategy, you must understand what the filings and websites are hiding.
Discuss your acquisition criteria.
Tell us what your business does and what an acquisition needs to achieve. Our team will confirm whether the Engine fits and which level suits you. Please do not send confidential financial information through this form — that can be shared later through an appropriate channel.
Evans Acquisition Opportunity Engine
From £695 + VAT / month
Initial three-month term · then monthly rolling · no setup, success or transaction fee
Acquisition Opportunity Engine provides commercial acquisition research and target intelligence. It does not replace legal advice, financial due diligence, tax advice, regulated investment advice, professional valuation or transaction-specific corporate-finance advice.
Rather talk it through first?
Questions about Acquisition Opportunity Engine
A recurring Evans service that identifies, researches, monitors and prioritises businesses that fit your acquisition criteria, so you build a systematic acquisition pipeline rather than relying on whatever happens to be advertised.
From legitimate sources: company websites, public company information and filings, directories, trade associations, broker listings, news and announcements, and licensed databases where available. Evans does not claim access to proprietary databases it has not licensed and does not scrape sources in breach of their terms.
It can identify companies that appear to match your criteria but are not advertised for sale. These are labelled potential strategic targets — there may be no evidence their owners are interested in selling.
No. On-market listings and potential strategic targets are both included and always clearly distinguished.
Never without your explicit approval. On Managed, Evans can prepare discreet, appropriate approaches to targets you have approved.
Yes. Onboarding establishes an acquisition mandate with must-have, preferred and exclude criteria and your strategic objectives. It is refined as the pipeline develops.
For each target, where data is available: what it is, why it fits, what it could add, the supporting evidence, what is unknown, potential problems, whether it is known to be for sale and the suggested next step — with sources and research dates.
Intelligence delivers the mandate, discovery, research, fit assessment, watchlist and regular updates. Managed adds Evans human support: deeper research, prioritisation, commercial interpretation, mandate refinement, pipeline management and preparation for approved outreach.
Intelligence is £695 + VAT per month and Managed is £1,295 + VAT per month. There is no setup fee, success fee, transaction fee or equity.
Three months, then monthly rolling.
No. Strategic fit is not a valuation. Use qualified valuation and corporate-finance advisers for that.
No. Financial, legal, tax and other due diligence should be carried out by appropriately qualified professional advisers.
No. Evans provides commercial acquisition research and target intelligence only.
Yes, where legitimate information is available for the market. It works well alongside Evans International Market Entry; country-specific legal and tax questions need local advisers.
Yes. Target intelligence can feed directly into the work of your corporate-finance, legal and accounting advisers.
Approval moves the target to the next stage you choose — deeper research, watch, or an approved approach. Nothing moves to contact without that decision.
Define what you want to buy.
Intelligence £695 + VAT / month. Managed £1,295 + VAT / month. Initial three-month term.
Prefer to speak directly?