What Corbett Keeling does

Corbett Keeling Limited is an independent, London-based corporate finance advisory firm founded in 1993 by Jim Keeling, with his wife Emma Keeling serving as Chief Operating Officer since 2015. The firm is family-owned, FCA-authorised (FRN 165387), and registered in England and Wales (No. 02811619), operating from a single headquarters at 8 Angel Court, London EC2R 7HP. It specialises exclusively in advising on the sale of privately-owned UK companies valued between £10 million and £150 million, and reports a 90% deal completion rate and an average 40% uplift in sale value relative to client expectations.

The firm's service offering comprises three core lines: Selling Your Business (full sale advisory), Raising Capital (debt and equity), and Acquisitions (target identification and execution). A proprietary pre-transaction diagnostic called the Positioning and Readiness Optimisation Review (PRO Review) is used to assess value drivers and sale readiness before a formal process begins. Corbett Keeling covers six sectors — Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials, Support Services, and Tech Media Telecoms — and accesses cross-border deal flow through the Globalscope Partners international advisor network.

The business runs on professional services fees tied to individual M&A transactions, with each engagement handled by a small senior team on a bespoke, relationship-led basis. There is no proprietary technology platform, no SaaS product, and no subscription or recurring revenue component. Headcount is in the 11–50 range; growth is expressed through team expansion (new analysts, managers and director promotions in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026) rather than market expansion.

Name

Corbett Keeling

Legal name

Corbett Keeling Limited

Website

https://corbettkeeling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Corbett Keeling is an independent, London-based boutique corporate finance advisory founded in 1993 that advises owners of privately-owned UK companies valued £10–150 million on selling their business, raising capital, and acquisitions. It is family-owned, FCA-authorised, and operates via the Globalscope Partners cross-border network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. M&A Advisory Services: Professional services fees for advising private company owners on selling businesses, raising capital, and acquisitions. Revenue is generated through transaction-based advisory fees for guiding clients through successful M&A transactions from positioning and readiness optimisation reviews through to deal completion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Corbett Keeling is an independent London-based corporate finance advisory firm that guides private UK company owners through selling their business, raising capital, and making acquisitions, primarily for deal values between £10 million and £150 million. Its services include full sale advisory (valuation, buyer identification, negotiation, transaction management), debt and equity capital raising, acquisition advisory (target identification and due diligence), and a Positioning and Readiness Optimisation (PRO) Review pre-transaction diagnostic. Fees are transaction-based advisory fees paid by business owners and boards.

Product overview

Corbett Keeling is an independent, London-based corporate finance advisory firm offering a unified suite of M&A advisory services for privately-owned UK companies valued between £10-150 million. The core offerings include Selling Your Business (full sale advisory), Raising Capital (debt and equity financing), and Acquisitions (target identification and transaction support). These services are complemented by the Positioning and Readiness Optimisation Review (PRO Review), a pre-transaction diagnostic tool that assesses business value and sale readiness. The firm operates across six sectors (Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials, Support Services, Tech Media Telecoms) and participates in the Globalscope Partners international adviser network for cross-border transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Selling Your Business Full-service sell-side advisory for UK private company owners, covering valuation, positioning, identification of trade, financial and international buyers, negotiation, and transaction management through to deal completion.
• Raising Capital Capital raising advisory for UK private companies, including debt financing and equity investment, connecting businesses with appropriate lenders and equity providers.
• Acquisitions Buy-side advisory for UK private companies, including target identification, valuation, due diligence management and transaction structuring.
• Positioning and Readiness Optimisation Review (PRO Review) Proprietary pre-transaction assessment that quantifies business value, identifies value-creation initiatives and evaluates sale or fundraising readiness for UK private company owners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% deal completion rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Globalscope PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of corporate finance advisory firms enabling Corbett Keeling to provide cross-border M&A services. The Globalscope network spans multiple countries and allows the firm to connect clients with international buyers and sellers, access deal opportunities across borders, and collaborate with partner firms on transactions.
• J. Sloan & Co.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS-based Globalscope partner firm that Corbett Keeling brought in to support the QX Global Group acquisition of Chazey Partners. Provided on-the-ground and local corporate finance expertise in the United States for cross-border transaction.
• Naxel iPartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndonesian Globalscope partner firm that Corbett Keeling collaborated with to advise Agricon Group on its sale to Rentokil Initial Plc.
• First Athens Corporate FinanceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreek Globalscope partner firm that worked with Corbett Keeling on the sale of Payzone Hellas SA to OPAP Investment Ltd.
• CatCap Corporate FinanceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman Globalscope partner firm that collaborated with Corbett Keeling to introduce the Hörmann Group to the acquisition opportunity of IG Doors Ltd.
• DEX International M&AminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational M&A advisory firm that Corbett Keeling partnered with to advise Drake & Farrell on its successful sale to B.V. Logicall Trusted Logistics.
• RM2 PartnershipminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSpecialist EOT advisory firm that Corbett Keeling worked alongside to advise Arbuckles on its sale to an Employee Ownership Trust.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Livingstone Partners: Global mid-market M&A advisory with strong UK presence, advising private business owners on sales, buy-side and capital raises. Overlaps directly with Corbett Keeling's £10-150M sell-side mandate profile.
• IMAP: Global mid-market M&A advisory network with UK member firms. Comparable to Corbett Keeling's Globalscope membership but at a larger scale, and a direct competitor for cross-border mid-market mandates.
• Alantra: European mid-market investment banking firm with a UK Corporate Finance practice advising private companies on M&A. Competes head-to-head in the UK lower-mid-market and brings sector-specialised teams in similar verticals.
• Clearwater Corporate Finance: One of the UK's most active mid-market corporate finance advisers, focused on UK and European deals in a similar lower-mid-market segment. Closest direct competitor by mandate profile, geography and target company size.
• KBS Corporate: UK lower-mid-market M&A advisory firm specialising in owner-managed businesses typically in the £5-100M range. Direct competitor for the smaller end of Corbett Keeling's stated sweet spot.
• Benchmark International: Global mid-market M&A advisory with UK operations focused on lower-mid-market transactions. Direct competitor for owner-manager sell-side mandates at the smaller end of Corbett Keeling's range.

Broad incumbents

• DC Advisory: International mid-market M&A advisor (part of Daiwa Securities Group) with deep UK mid-market practice. Competes on larger mandates in Corbett Keeling's sweet spot and provides a benchmark for mid-market fee economics.
• BDO UK Corporate Finance: Big-4-adjacent UK advisory practice with an active mid-market M&A team competing for sell-side and capital-raising mandates in the £10-150M band. Provides institutional muscle Corbett Keeling lacks.
• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank with a strong mid-market M&A franchise in London. Acts as a broad incumbent competitor — overlapping on Corbett Keeling's deal-size band when mandates scale up, though typically for larger clients.

Regional players

• Rickert M&A (Germany): German boutique M&A advisor focused on mid-market transactions. Comparable by mandate size and boutique positioning, but operates primarily in DACH rather than UK — relevant peer for Globalscope-network interactions.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/corbett-keeling
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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Corbett Keeling