Corporate finance, at its core, is a small set of decisions taken under uncertainty: how the business is funded, who owns it, what it buys or sells, and how the resulting structure is held together. We sit with management teams and boards on those decisions, on a senior, independent basis.
When clients come to us
When a board is approaching a real decision — a refinancing, a partial exit, an acquisition, a generational transition, a group restructuring. Usually before bankers and lawyers are appointed, so that the strategic shape is set before the process providers run with it. We are typically the first independent voice in the room.
How we work
A senior partner sits with the board to frame the decision properly: what the business is solving for, what the credible options are, and what each one actually costs. We then support the chosen path through structuring, advisor selection and execution discipline, without taking the role of process bank or lawyer ourselves.
What we deliver
- Strategic options memo for the board
- Capital structure and funding analysis
- Transaction structuring recommendations
- Advisor selection and process oversight
- Negotiation strategy and term sheet review
- Post-close integration framing
Typical engagement
Corporate finance work is structured around a board calendar — typically three to nine months from initial framing through to a defined decision point. On our side, a senior partner leads with one supporting director. On the client side, the CEO and chair are the principal counterparts, with the CFO involved on structuring detail.
Why CGLA
We do not earn fees on transactions we recommend, which keeps the advice structurally honest. Senior partners sit in every meeting — there is no pyramid of analysts in the background. The remit is corporate; we do not advise retail clients or hold ourselves out as regulated investment advisers.
