ASCEND
ASCEND Personal M&A Advisory

Find the right path.Make the right move. Ascend.

Ascend helps people find the right path through business ownership, acquisition, growth and exit—using honest, first-hand M&A experience to help them make better decisions and move forward with confidence.

Choose your journey ↓ Why Charlie?
Charlie Tanner Founder of Ascend · The M&A Architect
Charlie Tanner, founder of Ascend
Clarity.
Progression.
Partnership.The Ascend principles
38completed buy-side and sell-side transactions
£75m+advised transactional value
6businesses personally acquired
5personal business exits
£20menterprise value acquired
£9menterprise value exited
The Ascend philosophy

The next move should take you somewhere.

You are not buying a call, a template or another piece of theory. You are investing in a stepping stone towards whatever your goal may be—your first business, a stronger group, a successful exit or an acquisition capability built properly inside your organisation.

Every journey starts in a different place. Ascend provides the honest challenge, experienced judgement and personal partnership needed to make progress without pretending there is one universal route.

Clarity Progression Partnership
Choose your journey

Where are you now—and where do you want to go?

Ascend is built around outcomes, not fixed call allowances. The support flexes around the decisions, opportunities and challenges in front of you.

Journey 01

Acquisition Launch

From intent to ownership.

For aspiring acquirers who have decided they want more and need an experienced partner to help turn ambition into a credible acquisition journey.

  • Define a realistic acquisition search criteria
  • Build a clear route to finding suitable businesses
  • Assess live opportunities with greater confidence
  • Understand value, structure, finance and risk
  • Work towards acquiring the right business—not simply any business
Investment£750 / month
Three-month initial commitment.
Rolling monthly thereafter.
Journey 02

Business Ascent

From one business to a more valuable group.

For established owners who want to accelerate growth through acquisition, strengthen enterprise value and build a business that is eventually ready to exit on their terms.

  • Create an acquisition strategy aligned to the wider business
  • Challenge targets, valuations and deal structures
  • Navigate negotiation, funding and due diligence decisions
  • Plan acquisitions with integration and value creation in mind
  • Build towards a stronger, more transferable and saleable business
Investment£1,500 / month
Three-month initial commitment.
Rolling monthly thereafter.
Journey 03

Exit Pathway

From business owner to a successful exit.

For owners who want to increase value, prepare properly and navigate one of the biggest commercial and personal decisions of their lives with experienced support alongside them.

  • Understand current value and the barriers holding it back
  • Improve reporting, commercial processes and owner independence
  • Prepare the company, management information and story for market
  • Select trusted advisers without referral commissions or kickbacks
  • Receive strategic support through offers, negotiation and completion
InvestmentFrom £1,500 / month
Three-month initial commitment.
Rolling monthly thereafter.
Selective executive partnership

Ascend Executive Partnership

Board-level M&A leadership without the full-time appointment.

For acquisitive SMEs, buy-and-build groups, family offices, private investors and leadership teams that need the judgement and presence of a board adviser, NED, chairman, fractional M&A director or outsourced Head of M&A.

A handful of partnerships accepted
  • Shape and embed the acquisition strategy
  • Oversee the opportunity and transaction pipeline
  • Join key seller, board and negotiation discussions
  • Challenge financial analysis, valuation and funding plans
  • Coordinate professional advisers and due diligence workstreams
  • Support completion, integration planning and board decisions
Investment£5,000–£15,000 / month
Six-month initial commitment.
Paid monthly in advance.
Each journey is delivered through a flexible blend of private advisory sessions, direct communication and live guidance around the decisions and opportunities in front of you. All monthly investments are paid in advance. Additional work outside the agreed advisory scope is discussed and agreed before it begins.

No commission.
No kickbacks.
No hidden agenda.

Ascend does not take success fees, receive referral commissions or profit from the professionals it introduces. Your deals remain your deals. The advice is centred on what is right for you—not what creates another fee.

Where specialist legal, tax, accounting, finance or regulated advice is required, Ascend can introduce trusted professionals from across the M&A community. Those introductions are made because of trust and capability, never because they are incentivised.

Honest challenge
Independent judgement
Transparent relationships
Charlie Tanner
Charlie Tanner · The M&A Architect

Experience from every side of the table.

Charlie’s M&A experience did not begin in a classroom or inside a corporate finance textbook. It began as an operator in the construction industry, where he acquired the residential main contractor he worked within after its owner decided to retire.

That first transaction developed into a wider acquisition journey. Charlie went on to acquire three electrical subcontracting businesses, bringing them together as a group, alongside two fencing and landscaping companies. He has experienced what it means to assess a business, commit personal capital, inherit operational responsibility, combine companies, sit with risk and ultimately exit.

His experience then moved beyond personal acquisitions. What began as a consultancy opportunity became Sterling Valor—a specialist buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory firm. Charlie built the business from a start-up, worked across sectors and completed transactions from both sides of the table, gaining a rare view of how buyers think, how sellers prepare, how advisers influence a process and where transactions genuinely succeed or fail.

After building and exiting Sterling Valor, Charlie brought his long-term plans forward by five years and founded a family private investment firm alongside his wife. Today, that owner-investor perspective is strengthened by board-level work, an active acquisition focus and a deep network built through The Acquisition Collective.

“I have walked the walk from buyer, operator and seller to buy-side and sell-side adviser. Ascend exists to make that experience useful to somebody making their next move.”

Charlie is not here to give you textbook theory and send you away to work it out alone. He is here to ride alongside you: to bring realism when excitement takes over, confidence when self-doubt appears and honest challenge when the numbers, structure or strategy do not make sense.

OperatorConstruction leadership, commercial delivery and business ownership
AcquirerSix personal acquisitions across contracting, electrical and landscaping businesses
Group builderCombined multiple electrical subcontractors into a single group
SellerFive personal exits, including the sale of a start-up M&A advisory firm
Adviser38 completed buy-side and sell-side transactions with £75m+ advised value
Board levelExperience across board advisory, NED and strategic leadership roles
A wider M&A ecosystem

The knowledge is personal. The network is broader.

Ascend is founder-led, but its perspective has been shaped through operating, advising, investing and convening the wider M&A community.

Built and exited
Sterling Valor

A specialist buy-side and sell-side advisory firm built from start-up and exited after completing transactions across the UK SME market.

Founder
The Acquisition Collective

A community bringing buyers, sellers, advisers, investors and aspiring acquirers into the same room to learn, connect and create opportunities.

Co-founder
CLASC Holdings

A family private investment firm focused on long-term ownership, acquisition-led growth and building enduring value alongside Charlie’s wife.

A clear fit matters

Ascend is built for honest progress.

This is for you if…

  • You aspire to acquire but need clarity, belief and a credible route forward
  • You own an established business and want to grow through acquisition
  • You are preparing for an exit and want to improve value before going to market
  • Your leadership team needs experienced M&A judgement without a full-time hire
  • You value straight answers, personal accountability and realistic advice

This is not for you if…

  • You want shortcuts, hype or promises of effortless “no-money-down” acquisitions
  • You need somebody to carry out every task rather than advise your decisions
  • You want reassurance more than you want the truth
  • You expect a guaranteed acquisition, valuation or exit outcome
  • You are unwilling to take ownership of your own business and transaction
There is no arbitrary barrier to entry. There is, however, an expectation that you are serious about making progress.
Frequently asked questions

Clear answers before your next move.

Ascend is deliberately transparent about its role, its limits and what a successful relationship requires from both sides.

Who is Ascend for?

Ascend works with aspiring acquirers, established business owners, owners preparing to exit and selected acquisitive businesses, family offices, investors and leadership teams across England.

Do I need to already own a business?

No. Acquisition Launch is designed for aspiring acquirers. There is no financial or professional-status barrier to starting a conversation, although you must be serious about building a realistic route towards ownership.

Do I need a live acquisition or exit already underway?

No. Ascend can help you define your direction before a transaction exists, review opportunities once they arise and support your thinking throughout the journey.

Is Ascend a brokerage?

No. Ascend is a personal M&A advisory and mentoring business. It does not take success fees, market companies for sale or act as the transactional broker.

Will Charlie carry out the transaction work?

No. Ascend advises, challenges and guides. The client remains responsible for the business and transaction and appoints the necessary legal, tax, accounting, finance and regulated professionals.

Does Ascend take success fees or referral commissions?

No. Your deals are your deals. Ascend does not take transaction success fees or receive kickbacks from introduced professionals.

Can Ascend introduce professional advisers?

Yes. Where appropriate, Charlie can introduce trusted advisers from his M&A network. Introductions are based on trust and suitability and are not financially incentivised.

What is the minimum commitment?

Acquisition Launch, Business Ascent and Exit Pathway begin with a three-month commitment and continue on a rolling monthly basis. Ascend Executive Partnerships begin with a six-month commitment. Monthly investments are paid in advance.

Can Ascend guarantee I will complete a deal or achieve a particular exit?

No credible adviser can guarantee a transaction outcome. Ascend improves your clarity, preparation and decision-making, but the outcome will depend on the opportunity, market, funding, counterparties, professional advice and your own actions.

Does Ascend work outside England?

Ascend is launching with a focus on clients and transactions in England.

Explore your next move

Your journey starts with an honest conversation.

Tell Charlie where you are now, what you are trying to achieve and what feels unclear. Every enquiry is reviewed personally.

Ascend takes on a limited number of advisory relationships to protect the quality, honesty and personal attention behind each one.

Privacy notice

Last updated: 29 July 2026

Charlie Tanner trading as Ascend is the data controller for information submitted through this website.

Information collected

The enquiry form may collect your name, email address, telephone number, business or role, the advisory journey you are interested in and information you choose to provide about your acquisition, business or exit plans.

How information is used

Your information is used to review and respond to your enquiry, understand whether Ascend may be suitable and maintain necessary records of the conversation. The lawful basis is legitimate interests and, where a commercial relationship develops, taking steps before entering a contract.

Form processing

The website is intended to be hosted by Netlify. Form submissions may therefore be processed and stored through Netlify’s form-handling service. Information may also be stored securely in email or business administration systems used to respond to you.

Sharing information

Your information is not sold. It will only be shared where necessary to provide the website or respond to your request, where you ask for an introduction, or where required by law.

Retention and rights

Enquiry information will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary. You may request access, correction or deletion by submitting a website enquiry headed “Privacy request”. You may also raise a concern with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

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Terms and advisory scope

Last updated: 29 July 2026

Nature of the service

Ascend provides strategic M&A advisory and mentoring. It helps clients think through strategy, opportunities, valuation, structure, negotiation, preparation and decision-making.

Client responsibility

Clients retain control and responsibility for their businesses, transactions, decisions, documents and actions. Ascend is an adviser and does not carry out the client’s transaction work unless a separate written scope is agreed.

Professional and regulated advice

Ascend does not provide legal, tax, accounting, audit, investment, lending or other regulated financial advice. Clients must appoint appropriately qualified professionals where required.

No brokerage or success fee

Ascend does not act as a business broker under these journeys, does not take transaction success fees and does not receive referral commissions from introduced professionals.

No guarantee

No acquisition, funding, valuation, sale price or completion outcome is guaranteed. M&A transactions involve commercial risk and depend on factors outside Ascend’s control.

Engagement terms

The detailed scope, investment, payment terms, initial commitment and cancellation arrangements will be confirmed in a written advisory agreement before work begins. Monthly investments are payable in advance. Work outside the agreed scope requires separate agreement.