Director
Peter Counsell
- +44 (0)7990 971898
- peter@metacf.co.uk
- Find me on LinkedIn
- United Kingdom
Having read economics and accounting at Bristol, Peter joined KPMG in 1988, qualifying as an ACA and moving to the corporate finance division in the early 1990s. He founded Meta with Mark Ledger-Beadell in 1999.
Over the past 30+ years, he has focused on company sales, MBOs and acquisitions. He has developed a speciality in advising owner-managers on the sale of their business and dealing with both the commercial and personal issues that arise on transactions.
His skills have been recognised by industry awards for deals that he has led. A recent client described him as “an essential midwife to the transaction”.
Peter is married with three grown-up children. He used to play a lot of cricket and golf. These days he likes to walk his dog, do outdoor fitness, cook and go to concerts. Given the chance, he will happily discuss the music, films and cars of the 70s and 80s.
Sector expertise
Healthcare | Food & Beverage | Professional & Financial | Engineering | Security & FM | Infrastructure, Construction & Materials | Transport & Logistics | Media & Publishing
peter's Testimonials
“Whilst our day-to-day activities are all about securing transactions between buyers and sellers, we have not done this type of transaction before. Hence we are very grateful to Peter for his calm and experienced guidance in a number of unfamiliar scenarios.”
Graham Cooper
Oil Brokerage
“We are happy that KnowledgePool will drive forward our objectives for Maxim far faster than we may have been able to alone. Meta’s strategic and corporate finance advice enabled us to present our case to KnowledgePool in the best possible light and for us, as shareholders, to realise the value we all knew was embedded in our product base.”
Chris Brand
Maxim Training
“The original plan when I joined Prowse was to take over full ownership of the company over a five-eight year timescale, but this was brought forward and could not have been achieved without the support from Peter and Meta. They used their skills, experience and contacts superbly to define and negotiate an appropriate financial model overcoming various hurdles on the way.”
Jo Rogers
Prowse & Co
“I am very grateful to Peter and Meta for their assistance. Their strategic and financial advice dovetailed neatly with the operational, manufacturing and logistical knowledge that we were able to deliver from our in-house resources.”
John Wingfield
Flambeau
“Wendy and I are very pleased with the sale to the management team, in particular Nick who has been with the company for 20 years. After starting the company over 30 years ago, I could not think of anyone better to hand the reins over to. I have full confidence the new ownership will continue to grow the business to levels it has not been before. Peter Counsell provided valuable advice and guidance over the past few years whilst we considered an exit. When we decided to go ahead with a transaction Peter and Robbie at Meta displayed outstanding expertise from day one which provided us with the support and comfort we wanted throughout the process. We are delighted with how they delivered the transaction.”
Richard Gould
Multithread
"Helen and I are delighted to have completed the sale of Bob Woolmer Sales. When we first met Peter, I didn’t know what I would do after the sale. Now we are enjoying retirement and wonder how we had time to work so much. Helen and I are delighted with the sale and especially pleased with our professional advisers. The teams headed by Peter and by Jason were invaluable to us during an unfamiliar and, at times, emotional process and made such a difference to the eventual outcome."
James Wattenbach
Bob Woolmer
“This represents a significant milestone and a hugely positive development for Newmedica, enabling us to develop the business for a long term future in support of our mission of making eyecare better. I am delighted to have continued our trusted advisory relationship with Meta.”
Darshak Shah, co-founder and director
Newmedica
“The differentiator for OCS from its competition is its desire and ability to go that extra yard to satisfy its customers. That was also what we found with Peter at Meta. Through their skills and contacts they kept a very complicated structure on course for completion, leaving Lance and I with the time to the run the business. A very good allocation of tasks and responsibilities.”
Tim Jones, CEO
OCS
“It has been a pleasure to work with Peter. Both Suzie and I have greatly valued his advice and experience across a very long period. SIP has been built on the foundations of providing the very best client service and I found that Peter and his team’s approach thoroughly echoed our own attitude. The choice of adviser is crucial. The support needed is not just for the final transaction management but also for the positioning of the business and the development of succession. These are the foundations of a successful approach to the market. We had many approaches from prospective advisers over the years, but I never considered changing” Geoff continued. “The 15-year relationship with Peter and Meta has been one of our best investments.
Geoff Mills
SIP
“I thank Peter most profoundly for his advice and for bringing a most welcome perspective to the deal when needed. He has achieved the difficult task of making everyone feel that he was on their side”.
Amanda Barnes
Faversham House
