UK-headquartered M&A advisory firm Lava Advisory Partners has expanded into the US with the opening of a New York office, as it looks to strengthen its links with American private equity investors seeking acquisition opportunities across the UK and Europe.
Porreca and Dixon will be based at the firm’s new office in New York’s Chrysler Building.
The expansion will see Lava build on its existing relationships with US private equity and investment firms, positioning the advisor as a link between American investors and businesses across the UK and European markets. The move follows Lava’s recent $10.7m (£8m) growth funding agreement with Beechbrook Capital.
Porreca has nearly two decades of experience spanning deal origination, investment banking, private equity origination and M&A. He will particularly focus on B2B, healthcare and technology-enabled services.
Dixon has more than 20 years’ experience in the transaction advisory space, having held senior roles at Grant Thornton and BDO. Based in the US since 2017, she specialises in due diligence and will work across Lava’s international transactions.
Carlo Porreca, Partner at Lava Advisory Partners, said: “I’ve spent much of my career connecting business owners with investors, often across different markets. Lava’s deep understanding of the UK and European business landscape, combined with my US sponsor relationships and knowledge, gives us an unprecedented opportunity to put the most relevant opportunities in front of the right people, for the best possible results.”
Helen Dixon, Partner at Lava Advisory Partners, said: “Having spent much of my career working across UK and US transactions, I’ve seen first-hand how differently buyers in each market can assess opportunities and approach a transaction. I’m excited to bring that perspective to Lava’s cross-border work, helping our clients anticipate how they will be viewed by international investors and ensuring they are positioned to make the most of those opportunities.”
Freddi Rose, communications advisor, Lava Advisory Partners told Venture & Equity: “In the last few years we’ve seen a massive uptick in interest from US investors in UK mid-market companies, and it had become increasingly apparent that having a US presence was an essential element in being able to bring our UK clients the broadest possible range of investors.
“By opening a physical office we can be really and truly embedded at the heart of the US PE scene, and make the most of Carlo and Helen’s fantastic networks to create the same deep and lasting relationships with the US investment community as we have in the UK. This means connecting US investors into exciting UK acquisitions of course, but it also means we can support the US PE community with their own UK holdings when the time comes to move them on.”
