LAVA has announced it's become the UK's first boutique M&A advisory firm to transition to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), reflecting significant recent growth and creating an immensely exciting opportunity for the team.
Founded in September 2020, LAVA was designed to disrupt the M&A industry with its innovative approach to both dealmaking and teambuilding. Partners Simon Woodcock and Hamish Martin launched LAVA with the aim of building 'a place we actually wanted to work', and this announcement is testament to their ongoing commitment to the company's success.
LAVA is a certified B Corp, and commits 2.5% of annual revenue directly to its charity partners, so becoming the first boutique M&A advisory to transition to an EOT further underpins its unique approach and ongoing commitment to doing the right thing for clients, employees, and the community.
The strength of LAVA's business, combined with the uniquely creative, collaborative culture, drove the partners to take this step to protect the future of both the company and the team. Having handled many EOT transitions in the past, Hamish said of this approach:
With 100% of shares transitioning to employee ownership, the companyrepresents a compelling proposition for existing staff and new joinersalike, and will reassure long standing clients that LAVA is here to stay.
Simon commented:
In the past 12 months LAVA has more than doubled its headcount, adding further deep technical expertise as well as investing in both origination and storytelling capabilities to provide additional value to clients and maximise valuations.
Sector-agnostic, instead pursuing interesting themes and compelling companies, LAVA creates bespoke solutions for each and every client, securing its position as M&A advisor of choice for novel or complex deals with a personal touch.