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Expert corporate finance advice
Michael Barcia
I qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst and Young in Liverpool.
After 2 years as a financial controller for Kelloggs (counting cornflakes) I decided to move into corporate finance, initially with a view to getting into Private Equity investing, however I liked CF so much I have never made the move. In 2002 I established the forerunner of Meridian, in partnership with a regional law firm.
I asked Darren to join me in 2003, wanting to add his Banking and VC skill set to my accountancy, industry and CF experience. During 2005 we changed the name to Meridian Corporate Finance LLP and completed our own MBO of Meridian in October 2008.
Whilst its seems hard for me to believe, I have been in CF since 1996, and have advised on over 100 completed transactions, including, in 2001, the £18m MBO of Recruitment Solutions Group which turned out to be the UKs 10,000th MBO!
My History
| 1991–1994 | Auditor at Ernst & Young LLP |
| 1994–1996 |
Financial Controller at Kellogg Co of GB |
| 1996–1997 |
Corporate Finance Associate at Barrowman Associates |
| 1998–2002 |
Corporate Finance Director at Dhand Hatchard Davies Ltd |
| 2002–present | Partner at Meridian Corporate Finance LLP |
I hold the Corporate Finance qualification and I am retained by a number of my clients as a non executive Director giving impact into strategy with an obvious focus on the numbers given my background.
My qualifications
- Bangor University - BA (Hons) Accountancy, Economics and Finance
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales - ACA
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales – CF
My specialist market sectors
Too many advisers claim to be sector experts, my view is that unless you work in a sector all the time then it’s dangerous to claim to be an expert. Naturally we have experience in specific sectors, built up through transacted deals and over the last 6 years or so I have tended to focus on Insurance, insurance claims management, construction and oil and gas sectors. I hold non exec board positions on companies operating in each of these sectors.