The Acquisitions Academy – Taught By A Team Buying Businesses Themselves.
Join a structured twelve-month curriculum from the team running Obsessed’s own acquisitions programme. Nine areas, forty-four modules, monthly in-person training, quarterly 1:1 check-ins, and a community of acquirers going through the same work. By the end, you can take a deal from sourcing to completion.
Free · 45 minutes
10,000+
ACCA
250+
Master’s & PhD
Live
Accounting
Advisory
Acquisitions
The five pillars of the Acquisitions Academy.
Five parts that make up the twelve months.
01
The Acquisitions Curriculum.
Forty-four modules across nine areas. Members work through at their own pace and come back to it as deals come up. Plus a library of templates ready to drop straight into a live deal – outreach letters, discovery call structures, valuation models, heads of terms, share purchase agreements, due diligence checklists, etc. Experienced acquirers are brought in to teach throughout the year, sharing how they’ve structured the deals they’ve done.
02
Live, in-person monthly Academy Day.
Once a month, members get together for the Academy Day – a full day in-person with Ben and the team. The biggest part of how the Academy works: live teaching, coaching and getting on with the work. Each session expands on a specific part of the curriculum, in depth, with the atmosphere of being around other owners doing the same. Every session is recorded, and the library stays with members across the year.
03
Bi-weekly group coaching calls.
Bi-weekly group Zooms with Ben and the team. Q&A sessions for members to bring whatever they’re working on between Academy Days. Hot-seat feedback on live problems, accountability and a shot of inspiration to keep you building and pushing for growth.
04
Regular one-to-one accountability calls.
Phone calls from the team across the year. The team keeps track of where you are, and looks for what’s stopping you or needs unblocking. These calls keep you on track when life gets in the way, which it does – and keep you connected to the team across the year.
05
Community, network, relationships.
Twelve months with other ambitious acquirers – at Academy Days, on the coaching calls, in the chats in between. Most spend their time surrounded by people who don’t get what they’re doing. The Academy connects you with others who are doing what you’re doing, who get it without needing it explained, who push you forward. Members get inspired, encouraged, supported. They share what’s working, help each other through what isn’t, do deals together, refer business and grow together.
“I was about to offer £750,000 for a business. The Academy walked me through the valuation framework properly. I went back forty percent lower and the seller took it.“
Danny · corporate financial training
Nine areas, taught online through classes, in the order a deal gets completed.
Sourcing and outreach first. Then discovery calls, valuations, financing, deal structure, negotiation, heads of terms, due diligence, contracts and completion. Together, they teach you to take a deal from sourcing to completion.
01
Sourcing & Outreach
Most acquirers chase deals brokers send them and overpay for what’s left. By the end of this module, you’ve got a pipeline of off-market sellers coming directly to you – and you decide which are worth meeting for.
How to build a list of acquisition targets the brokers haven't seen - the businesses whose owners haven't yet decided to sell. The filters and signals that flag one as acquirable.
Whether letters or emails, which gets the highest response rates, and what always gets ditched. What to put in it, and how to write one that earns a call back.
How to keep two hundred conversations alive in a system you can run from your phone. The work flow that turns a target list into a working pipeline, and the CRM setup most acquirers skip.
The seller's premises versus neutral ground, the time of day and who you insist is in the room - because the wrong person there kills the deal before you've started.
What the seller has to send before you meet - and what it tells you before they've said a word. What accounts you need, and what minimum threshold needs to be hit before you get together.
02
The First Conversation
Most acquirers waste three or four meetings over many months to realise a deal was never there. By the end of this module, you know in the first twenty minutes – and you spend the rest of the call deciding what to do about it.
The exact twelve questions you ask on every first call, in the order they have to be asked. Each one surfaces motivation, conditions or what the seller is trying to hide - and the exact order needs to be followed.
What the seller says, what they mean and the information you have to read between the lines of. Every answer tells you something the seller doesn't realise they're saying - and understanding what to listen for is essential.
Why the seller wants out - health, retirement, debt, divorce, a partner buy-out gone wrong. Most sellers won't tell you the real reason until you've gone through their smokescreen first.
The phrases sellers use when they're more motivated than they're letting on. "I'm not desperate to sell" is the obvious one. What the others sound like and how to handle them without spooking the seller.
How to close out a first call so the seller leaves feeling they need to win you over. The questions in the last five minutes, and the line you walk out on.
The signals that say a seller is genuinely going to sell, versus the ones running discovery calls with multiple buyers month after month. How to tell who is who before you commit any of your time.
How to walk away from non-starter deals without burning relationships. The seller you decline properly today is often the one who comes back months later with the right deal.
03
Valuing The Business
Most acquirers take whatever the seller’s accountant has put on the page and negotiate down from there. By the end of this module, you walk in with your own price, built on data and facts, and you can defend every penny of it.
The factors that decide what a business is worth - clients, contracts, owner-dependence, recurring revenue, sector, scale and seven others. Knowing them gives you precise valuations that can easily be financed.
NBV, entry valuation, comparable analysis, DCF and P/E multiples - and the deal each one is the right tool for. Why you'll use a different method on a £400k acquisition than a £4m one.
Why EBITDA is the wrong number for businesses under a certain size, why the seller will push it on you anyway and what to use instead. The numbers that survive DD, and the ones that are cut.
Legal fees, redundancy, one-off relocations, settlements, the year the business had a fire. The expenses that legitimately come off the operating costs - and how each one changes deals.
Normalised wages, commercial rent at market rates, mates' rates that disappear after completion, family on payroll who don't do much work. How to take each one out of the price without the seller walking away.
What the seller calls value, what the bank calls value, what HMRC calls value and what the business is worth to you. Knowing which one you're negotiating against changes how you negotiate.
04
The Financing Routes
Inexperienced acquirers think they need the full cash equivalent of the agreed price – and they don’t. By the end of this module, you know the five financing routes most buyers don’t know exist.
How to raise finance against the target's plant, machinery and vehicles - the assets that have serial numbers and a valuable market worth. What lenders look for and how much you can typically pull out.
How to release 80-90% of the target's B2B debtor book on day one of completion. Which lenders run it, what the cost is and how much it brings to the deal.
Borrowing against revenue the business has contracted but hasn't yet earned. The contract types lenders accept, the typical advance rates and the businesses where this route almost pays for itself.
How to draw a company loan inside the target before completion - so the business pays for part of its own acquisition. Which lenders do this, and the structures it works well for.
How to get the seller to carry part of their own price, paid out from the cashflow of the business you're buying. When sellers accept it, and the terms that protect you if the business underperforms.
05
Deal Structuring
When the seller refuses to move on price, and the deal won’t finance any longer, the structure has to do the work to make it happen. By the end of this module, you can take a deal that looks unfinanceable and find the deal that makes it work.
How to use earn-outs to bridge a price gap when the seller's number is too high. The metrics, the period and the structures that don't make you liable if the business turns.
How to stack the five routes onto the same deal so the cash you put in is a fraction of the headline price. The order they go on, and which lenders work alongside each other.
Why a personal guarantee on an acquisition loan is the line you don't cross - whatever the lender or broker tells you. What they'll ask for instead, and the deals you walk from rather than committing to.
06
How To Negotiate
Most acquirers say all the wrong words and concede too much from the first conversation. By the end of this module, you walk in knowing exactly what you’ll do at every decision – to get the best deal for both parties.
Why the seller has to name a price first - every time. The four ways to get them to name it when they won't, and what to do in the silence that often follows.
The visible reactions you give during conversations, and why discomfort in the moment means the negotiation is working, and how to do it without conceding.
How to walk a seller down from a price you can't justify - without them folding their arms and ending the conversation. The reframes that work, and when to walk away.
07
Heads Of Terms
HOTs is where most first-time acquirers get caught out. By the end of this module, you walk out of the first meeting with signed exclusivity that takes every other buyer off the table for ninety days.
Jurisdiction, fees, confidentiality, exclusivity - the four sections of HOTs that are binding once both sides sign. What each one does, and how the seller's solicitor will try to revoke them later.
No personal guarantees, no material change between signing and completion, and a few others that makes or breaks deals.
How to walk into the first meeting with HOTs printed and ready for signatures - and walk out with both signatures on it. What to say when the seller wants to "run it past my solicitor first".
What exclusivity does once it's signed - the ninety days it gives you to get to completion without another buyer coming over the top. How long to push for, and what to concede.
08
Due Diligence
Most acquirers walk into DD with no plan and burn £20,000+ in legal fees before they understand what they’re paying for. By the end of this module, you manage the lawyers, run the three streams in parallel and renegotiate off whatever findings turn up.
What each route means for risk, timeline and price - six weeks versus six months, typically. Why a share purchase carries everything the company has ever done and an asset purchase doesn't.
Financial DD run by your accountant, legal by your lawyer, commercial by you. What each one is looking for, and how to run all three in parallel so the work doesn't add months of stress to the deal.
Why you negotiate specific pricing from the start - and how to get lawyers to agree. The strategies that keep deals moving fast, and when to switch firms.
How to keep three solicitor firms in play during DD - so the seller's lawyer knows laziness won't be acceptable, and what to do when the one you're using needs to go.
What to do when DD turns up something material - a contract that doesn't transfer, a tax liability nobody mentioned, a customer concentration nobody flagged. How far you push before the seller pulls the deal.
Buying a business out of administration through a pre-pack - and the rules that let you take the assets without inheriting the liabilities. How the process works, and the deals where this route fits.
09
Contracts & Completion
Most acquirers reach completion utterly exhausted, sign whatever’s put in front of them and find out weeks later they signed a mistake. By the end of this module, you know what’s worth pushing back on in the SPA, the lease and the completion accounts.
Warranties, indemnities, non-compete, price and terms, completion accounts - the five blocks of the SPA. Where the seller's solicitor will try to push back, and using language that doesn't trip you up later.
Whether the property is leased from a third party, owned inside the trading company or owned personally - and what each scenario means for the deal. The lease assignment, the value adjustment, the deal-within-a-deal.
The preferred terms to negotiate, when to agree inflation reviews, Authorised Guarantee Agreements and personal guarantees. The terms that protect you for the life of the lease, and why you walk if any of these terms have to stay.
The accounts drawn up at completion to confirm the price you're paying, and the working capital adjustment that moves the final number up or down. What's in scope, what's not and the disputes that follow when it's drafted badly.
Why deals die in the legal process more often than not, and how to keep yours alive from HOTs to completion. When to check in, the signs a deal is about to fail and how to win it back.
Working through nine areas across twelve months. By the end, you can take an acquisition from sourcing to completion – and you’re in control of how many you acquire.
Free · 45 minutes
For the owners who want more.
The Academy is how we help you control your long-term wealth. Above it sit two levels – one as an upgrade, the other strictly by invitation.
Very Obsessed People
Exclusive dinners at landmark venues throughout the year, with Ben and a small handful of other V.O.P. owners. Membership is kept at 30 places. A monthly 1:1 and access to the advisory team is also included.
Different landmark venues each time, across the UK. Six dinners a year, every other month. We book the venue and cover the bill - you turn up and enjoy.
Ben hosts, sometimes with one of the team alongside. A small group of other V.O.P. owners. We celebrate the wins, talk collaborations, opportunities, and soak up the experience.
A monthly 1:1 with an advisor or accountant from the team, on building your business. You can choose the same person across the year, so the relationship deepens, rather than starting from scratch every time.
Direct contact with the advisory team between your monthly 1:1s - for the questions and check-ins that come up across your V.O.P. year.
When Obsessed seeks partners for acquisitions, V.O.P. members have the opportunity to join first, ahead of the wider investors network.
1:1 With Ben
The highest level. For acquirers who want to work directly with Ben.
Everything in the Academy and V.O.P., in full - with added extras.
A direct, working relationship with Ben - unfiltered input on your business, from someone in the thick of building an acquisitions group.
Acquisitions, exits, capital structure, investor readiness and scaling at pace.
The Obsessed Accounting team behind you for financial modelling and deal analysis.
“By breaking down each step I have been about to truly understand the process and identify key areas of my business that i can implement strategies and processes to help me dominate my industry even as a newbie… By implementing all that Ben has taught me it has allowed me to grow a six figure business within six months and become an award winning business.”
Frankie · wedding & events planner
Who the Academy works for.
The Academy works for ambitious business acquirers at different points.
You’ve run a business, but haven’t bought one yet. The Academy takes you through the full process: sourcing the right targets, valuing them, deal terms you can finance, and getting to completion without losing the deal.
You’re in a live conversation with a seller, and you need to know how to handle it now. The Academy gives you that structure, with the Obsessed Accounting team brought in for the financial work when the deal goes live.
What you’re building now is bigger than one deal – it’s a group, with the structure, financing and scale that comes with it. You’ll learn how a group runs, where larger investors come from, and using what you already own to grow faster.
Got money to invest in acquisitions – but no interest in running them yourself?
Some people want to acquire businesses and run them – building a portfolio of companies under their own control. Others have the capital but no interest in running another business.
Obsessed Investors is where you invest in the acquisitions Obsessed is making. How that’s structured gets discussed on the Investors page.
Investor information is regulated. Self-certification required.
Your advisory session, then twelve months of structured growth.
From your first call to twelve months in. Here’s how it works.
01
45 minutes on your acquisition plans and aspirations.
You sit down with the advisory team – the people you’d be working with – going through where the business is, what you’ve got to commit and what kind of acquisitions are realistic at your stage. By the end of the call you know whether the Academy is the right choice.
Free, always
02
Whether the Academy’s the right choice – and if so, which level fits.
On the call itself, the advisory team gives you a straight answer: whether the Academy is the right place for you now, whether the Growth Academy might fit first or whether what you want to achieve is closer to being an investor. We won’t take you onto something that won’t work.
Day 1
Same call
03
The fit has to work both ways, and if it doesn’t, we’ll say so.
What gets you approved: the right ambition, the mindset and time to commit, the seriousness about doing acquisitions properly. If those line up, we’ll push you to take the space. If they don’t, we’ll tell you why – and what to do instead.
By application
04
Into the Academy, and the growth begins.
Once the space is yours, you’re into the Academy on day one. You’re introduced to the materials, onboarded onto the calls and welcomed into the community of other business acquirers who are going through the same journey you are.
First month in
05
A year of structured growth – through training, coaching and people who hold you accountable.
Nine areas of the curriculum, monthly in-person training days, training Zooms in between, quarterly 1:1 check-ins to course-correct, and people watching the growth and pulling you up when it slips.
The growth
Twelve months in – you continue to acquire. And you’re in complete control of how many you buy.
I watched business owners receive answers to individual problems, but no guidance for the business as a whole. So I built something different.
I’ve trained over 10,000 entrepreneurs. Spent years working alongside accountants, advisors and coaches at every level of the industry. And the same thing kept happening, in business after business.
An accountant who spoke to the owner once or twice a year, with no connection to what the business was trying to achieve. A coach who’d never run a business themselves, charging thousands to teach others how to run one. A wealth advisor who didn’t understand the company generating the wealth in the first place. Each one giving individual input, but none looking at the whole business. And then the owner – left in the middle trying to connect everything together.
I built the alternative. An ACCA-regulated accounting practice, experienced advisors who run real, profitable businesses themselves, with Master’s degrees as a minimum across the team, a founder doing a PhD whilst developing a fully accredited Master’s in Entrepreneurship, and an active acquisitions programme putting money behind everything we teach.
Qualified accountants and experienced advisors, looking at your whole business at once, giving you full control of your business. The way it should have been from the start.
Ben Jacob-Smith
10,000+ trained · Active acquirer · PhD researcher
Over 250 five-star reviews. Here’s what they’re saying.
Every review below is public, verified and unedited.
The most commonly asked questions, answered.
If yours isn’t here, it’ll get answered on the Advisory Session.
01
What does the Acquisitions Academy cost?
Investment is discussed on your Advisory Session, with your numbers in front of us. The right level depends on where you’re at, and you’ll know exactly what it costs and what it covers before you decide anything.
02
What deal size is realistic?
The Academy doesn’t fix a deal size. We’ve worked with acquirers pursuing deals from sub-£500k to multi-million. What matters more than the purchase price is the structure – how it’s financed, what’s deferred, what risk you’re absorbing. We work that out with you for the deals you’re looking at.
03
Do I need prior acquisition experience?
No. The Academy is built for first-time acquirers as much as people who’ve done deals before. What you do need is business experience. It isn’t suited to people with no business background of their own.
04
What’s the time commitment?
Roughly half a day a week of structured work, plus whatever time the deals demand. The structured side is paced – modules, calls, work between sessions. The deal side scales with your lead flow – there’s typically more time that gets spent in negotiation than in deal sourcing. There’s no fixed weekly hour count we’d pretend is real.
05
How does the Obsessed Accounting team integration work?
The Academy is delivered by Ben and the Advisory team. When you reach a live deal – heads of terms agreed, due diligence opening – the Obsessed Accounting team comes alongside you for the financial work: deal modelling, DD on the target’s accounts, structuring analysis. You’ll have qualified advisors running the numbers whilst you negotiate.
Take back control of your business.
In 45 minutes, we’ll identify the biggest opportunities and the biggest areas where you’re losing control across your numbers, growth and long-term wealth. If there’s a way we can help, we’ll show you what it is. If there isn’t, you’ll leave with a clearer plan of what to do next.
Your numbers should make decisions obvious. If they don’t, something important is missing in how they’re being used.
Your growth shouldn’t feel inconsistent. If it does, it isn’t being driven by a repeatable, reliable system.
Your wealth should be building every day. If it isn’t, value isn’t being retained in the business efficiently.
Free · 45 minutes