About LS Dhillon Advisory
Accountants and advisers for owner-led businesses, with one eye on this year's numbers and one on the value of what you are building.
Why we work the way we do
Most owners sell a business once. The buyers across the table do it far more often. We think owners deserve advisers who understand both sides: the accounts and tax that keep the business compliant, and the questions a buyer will ask when it comes to a sale.
LS Dhillon Advisory was founded by Sharon Dhillon FCCA, a chartered certified accountant who spent more than ten years working on transactions at KPMG, Deloitte and a listed acquirer before founding the firm.
Big 4 deal experience, on the owner's side of the table
Sharon Dhillon has spent more than ten years on both sides of the deal table. At Deloitte and then KPMG Transaction Services she carried out financial due diligence for corporates, private equity houses and public sector clients, buy side and sell side, testing earnings, net debt, working capital and forecasts on deals ranging from small acquisitions to an £8bn takeover defence.
She then moved in-house, working in the corporate world running acquisitions from first look to completion: pricing the opportunity, agreeing heads of terms, leading the diligence, negotiating the sale and purchase agreement and planning the integration.
What she saw, deal after deal, was that much of the price is settled before anyone sits down to negotiate. Buyers arrive with a team that knows exactly where to look. Owner-managed businesses rarely have anyone doing the same work on their side. Sharon set up LS Dhillon Advisory so that owners get the rigour a buyer will apply, before a buyer applies it, through the Commercial Review and the accounts and tax work that keeps the numbers right every year.
Explaining how buyers think
Sharon has spoken to business owners and buyers about how deals are priced, tested and protected, from due diligence through to the gap between signing and completion. It is the same thinking she brings to a Commercial Review.
- FCCAFellow Chartered Certified Accountant
- Big 4Ex KPMG and Deloitte Transaction Services
- Both sidesBuy side and sell side experience
- 10+ yearsIn M&A, transaction services and corporate development
Sectors and expertise
Most of Sharon's deal work has been with engineering-led and industrial businesses, where buyers look hard at margins, working capital and customer concentration.
- Aerospace and defenceElectronics, antennas and engineering businesses serving defence and aerospace customers.
- ManufacturingEngineering, electronics and industrial manufacturing businesses.
- Industrials and distributionComponent distribution, building materials, logistics and support services.
Expertise
- Buy side and sell side financial due diligence
- Working capital, EBITDA and net debt review
- Deal structuring, negotiation and SPA review
- Valuation, synergies and price adjustments
- Post-merger integration planning
- Board and investor presentations
- Transaction accounting and funding structures
Selected transaction experience
| Transaction | Value | Role |
|---|---|---|
| FTSE 100 engineering group, defence against a hostile takeover bid | £8bn | Transaction services |
| Global energy and natural resources research business, IPO and vendor due diligence | £1.85bn | Vendor due diligence |
| Support services business, sale to a listed buyer | £271m | Sell-side support to the CFO |
| UK haulage and logistics business, sale to an investment firm | £75m | Transaction services |
| Humidification equipment business, sale to a trade buyer | €59m | Transaction services |
| US antenna manufacturer (defence and communications), acquisition | $2m | Acquisition run end to end |
| UK electronic components distributor, acquisition | £1.4m | Acquisition run end to end |
| Civil nuclear engineering business, sale to a trade buyer | Not disclosed | Vendor due diligence |
Deals Sharon worked on in previous in-house roles and at KPMG and Deloitte. They are not engagements of LS Dhillon Advisory.
See your business the way a buyer will, before a buyer does. Start with a Commercial Review.
Find out more
Your accounts and your exit plan, in one place
Because we prepare the numbers, we know where the strengths and the weak spots are. That makes the step from compliance to a Commercial Review, and from there to a sale, a short one.
What you can expect
Plain English
We explain your numbers and your options clearly, without jargon.
Looking ahead
We raise ideas and deadlines before they matter, not after.
Agreed upfront
Scope and timetable are set out in writing before work starts.
Tell us where the business is and where you want it to be
An initial conversation is the easiest place to start. We will listen, ask a few questions and tell you plainly whether and how we can help.
