News

7th March 2025, UK

At Langcliffe, we take immense pride in cultivating unparalleled relationships with vendor advisors. Our commitment to building strong, trusted, and mutually beneficial partnerships enables us to connect advisors with more buyers than any other firm in the market.

Equally, we are proud to be celebrated as a champion of women in business.

Apart from founder Mark Eardley, our senior management team, led by Managing Director Helen Postlethwaite, are all women. And this itself showcases Langcliffe’s commitment to amplifying women’s voices—both within our business and across the industry.

At the heart of our female-driven workplace and global vendor advisor initiatives is Holly Cooper, our Senior Commercial Manager.

Holly joined Langcliffe fresh out of university in 2017, initially as part of our buy-side team before transitioning to the commercial side of the business. What started as a one-woman effort has grown into a thriving team of seven, responsible for managing global vendor advisor relationships and sell-side activity in every territory. Holly leads Langcliffe’s service for the advisory community and drives internal team development.

“I love that Langcliffe has been so supportive of my growth, allowing me to transition between roles and projects, leading teams, and expanding my experience.” said Holly.

Beyond her leadership in vendor advisor engagement, Holly is spearheading a transformative AI-driven initiative that will revolutionise Langcliffe’s approach to sourcing, structuring, and managing both buy-side and sell-side data.

Innovating with AI to Enhance Efficiency, Expand Service

Holly is collaborating closely with a team of consultants to develop AI-powered technology that will streamline internal processes, drive efficiency, and enhance Langcliffe’s ability to identify buyers.

“Working on automation projects has been incredibly insightful,” Holly shares. “The AI technology we’re developing will fundamentally change the way we operate – enhancing efficiency, enabling our team to identify more buyers, and fostering stronger relationships.”

This proprietary technology will accelerate the traditionally time-intensive process of researching buyers without compromising quality. By reducing administrative burdens, our team can focus on high-value relationship-building with our buy-side, ensuring we deliver businesses that align perfectly with their interests.

“Understanding advisors’ processes, ensuring flexibility in our approach, and fostering transparency in our progress are critical to the Langcliffe service,” Holly explains. “By refining our automation capabilities, we not only enhance our efficiency but also deepen the personal connections that drive successful transactions.”

Scaling for Global Expansion

The AI-driven automation of mandate processing will free up even more time for our team, allowing them to concentrate on vendor advisors’ evolving needs.

“My team is exceptional – we handle everything from research and relationship management to marketing communications, mandate processing, and outbound mandate generation,” says Holly. “With our expansion into Europe and the US, our proprietary automation technology will allow us to scale efficiently without compromising our industry-leading service levels.”

She adds, “What matters to me is making that strong first impression with one office and securing introductions to others through our service, network, and reputation. As we grow into the US market, we need to be at our best. The cross-border potential is enormous, and I want to ensure our clients continue receiving the highest standard of service.”

A New Era for Langcliffe

Langcliffe’s ongoing expansion and technological advancements are complemented by our recent acquisition of Ascent M&A Consulting. This strategic move grants us access to premier origination services for active acquirers, corporate finance firms, large corporates, and private equity investors across the UK, Europe, and North America.

With Holly’s leadership in vendor advisor engagement and key role in our cutting-edge AI initiatives, Langcliffe is poised to redefine the industry – connecting more buyers and sellers, strengthening global relationships, and most importantly, empowering women in business every step of the way.

27^th November 2024, UK

Langcliffe International, a leading global M&A deal origination firm, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Ascent M&A Consulting.

Ascent M&A Consulting is a specialist provider of origination services for active acquirers and corporate finance firms, large corporates, and private equity investors in the UK, Europe and North America.

The acquisition and integration of Ascent into Langcliffe’s operations represents the first strategic move by the business to strengthen and diversify its service offering. Ascent’s expertise in off-market deal origination for active acquirers, and buyer research for corporate finance advisors, complements Langcliffe’s well-established deal origination capabilities, enabling the firm to provide a comprehensive, end-to-end solution for buyers and sellers across the M&A spectrum.

Announcing the acquisition, Langcliffe International Managing Director, Helen Postlethwaite, said:

“This is an exciting time for Langcliffe and I am thrilled to welcome Ascent into the group. This acquisition enhances our market position, allowing us to offer both on-market and off-market deal origination services to our clients, and expand our buyer universe for the benefit of vendor advisors”

As part of the acquisition, Ascent’s sell-side research team will gain direct access to Langcliffe’s proprietary database of more than 30,000 acquirers and their M&A requirements. This integration will enhance the research for sell-side projects by leading to increased buyer interest and improved deal outcomes for clients and advisors.

Ascent M&A Consulting Managing Director, Jack Telford, added:

“Joining forces with Langcliffe is a very exciting opportunity for Ascent. We primarily serve acquisitive companies and corporate finance advisors, being part of Langcliffe will enhance our service to both groups of clients. With direct access to the Langcliffe team, and technology developments already underway, I am looking forward to what we can achieve together”

The combined businesses now boast a team of over 30 professionals, offering unmatched deal origination expertise across the market.

Both firms are also investing in AI technology to drive greater efficiency, improve the quality of their output, and streamline current processes to ensure clients benefit from the most advanced solutions available in the industry.

Langcliffe and Ascent, in-line with their ambitious growth strategies, will both be actively recruiting talent in 2025 to further strengthen the core team and continue delivering exceptional results for clients.

About Langcliffe International

Langcliffe is Europe’s leading M&A deal origination firm, specialising in providing on-market acquisition opportunities for corporate acquirers and private equity firms. With a strong track record and extensive network, Langcliffe is a trusted partner for high-quality deal flow and market insights.

About Ascent

Ascent provides off-market and buyer origination services to large corporations, private equity firms and corporate finance firms. Known for their deep understanding of buyer requirements, industry research and ability to originate private off-market businesses internationally, Ascent delivers tailored M&A solutions to clients.

For further information, please contact:

Helen Postlethwaite on helen.postlethwaite@langcliffeinternational.com, or

Mark Eardley on mark.eardley@langcliffeinternational.com