Our Story | Knight

Our Story

Knight was founded by Adam Zoldan and Paul Billingham in December 2008 with the specific aim of advising businesses and entrepreneurs in the technology and telecoms sector

Since Knight CF formed in 2008, it has completed over 100 transactions across the technology and telecoms sector.

We make your ambition a reality. Our expertise is to listen, understand and deliver the success you deserve. And, we can do this because we have sat in your seat: starting, building and successfully exiting businesses.


Knight was founded by Adam Zoldan and Paul Billingham in December 2008 with the specific aim of advising businesses and entrepreneurs in the technology and telecoms sector.


Our founders have both spent long periods of their careers in senior commercial and operational roles in the telecoms sector including Martin Dawes Telecommunications, Opal Telecom (Talk Talk Business), Cellcom and V Networks, as well as corporate finance roles in Gartner and PWC.


The company is now a dedicated team of 12 professionals operating from offices in Warrington and London. Each member of our team understands the critical role they play in our clients’ lives. Our team is on your side from day one.


Our unique sector experience has been bolstered by key hires with advisory, commercial, and accountancy expertise. This blend of experience allows us to see opportunities from multiple perspectives and ultimately deliver the best possible solution to our clients.


The detail is critical in M&A and with over 100 transactions under our belt, we have proved our ability and stamina to deliver at the highest level. Our ethos is to spend time understanding our clients' businesses and what they want to achieve, and then set out options accordingly.


Here's how else we add value:


Knight R&D – rewarding your innovation

We’ve been where you are. We’ve started, grown and sold businesses. We know how valuable R&D is and how it can give back to the business. Our specialist R&D consultancy works solely in R&D tax relief, a government sponsored incentive. We work to help you realise your full R&D relief entitlement fast and with minimum risk. Since launching in September 2016, we’ve helped companies make over 100 claims – many unaware that they could even make a claim.


>_fund:tmt – flexible, intelligent investments

In partnership with Spark Impact, Knight’s founders have launched a new fund focussed on the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector. They make Investments of c£500k to £750k for a range of purposes (development capital, shareholder equity release, buy-out minorities, M&A).

Since Knight CF formed in December 2008, it has completed over 120 transactions. Meet the team that have delivered results for clients across the UK.Meet the Team

Our approach

Find out more on how we work, with our 2016 interview with Comms Vision.
  • I knew the process was likely to be challenging. Until we started the journey, we did not fully realise how complex and demanding the transaction could be and the value of having Knight as an advisor. We were so impressed just how much support and expertise Knight provided through out every step of the due diligence. As we also had our day jobs to do, it was a huge help to have Knight on our side. We are in no doubt Adam and the team overcame a number of obstacles, including keeping the conversations going through lockdown at the height of the pandemic and successfully defending our position on key commercial points in diligence to ensure that we were not susceptible to any late price negotiations. From the get-go, Knight ran a professional and efficient process, ensuring we were prepared and negotiated a deal that we are delighted with. Knight exceeded our expectations in every way

    Tony Cook

    Union Street Technologies

  • We engaged Knight initially to prepare ourselves and the business for a potential exit. The results and recommendations gave us confidence that that our price aspirations could be achieved. With Knight’s experience and sector knowledge, we were able to negotiate an agreement that met the expectations of all our shareholders. They professionally managed the process despite lockdown and were always on hand during the engagement

    Firas Bilbeisi

    CMT

  • We engaged Knight to take the business through a dry run due diligence process (Knight Vendor Assist) to ensure we were prepared for our eventual exit and the timing turned out to be perfect. Knight delivered a deal that allowed us to realise the wealth we had locked up in the business with plenty of upside as part of the team at Kerv

    James Passingham

    Foehn

  • I’ve known Knight for over 10 years having worked with Adam on the sale of my first business. Knight managed the process and ensured a highly complex deal ran extremely smoothly. When you agree the initial terms of a deal it seems very simple but it’s never the case. With Knight at my side, we were able to navigate the intricacies of the merger to a successful completion; it would have been tough without them

    Steve Burges

    DoubleEdge

  • Having worked with Adam and the Knight team on our debt funding three years ago, we knew Knight had the expert knowledge of the sector and strong funder relationships to deliver a deal that would meet the business’ growth ambitions.

    Kevin Timms

    EACS

  • Knight’s industry expertise was invaluable in running a disciplined and professional process. We were delighted with the outcome, having found an ideal partner in Babble Cloud, where the two business cultures are so closely aligned.

    Erica Lewis

    Diva Telecom

  • We’ve enjoyed the journey with Knight. They ensured the business and our team were fully prepared for the transaction and delivered a deal that fully realised our aspirations for the business. I enjoy working in the hospitality sector and now have the firepower to develop the business at home and abroad, potentially with another bite of the cherry in due course.

    Simon Catterick

    QDOSsbl

  • I have worked with Paul Billingham at Knight for a number of years and his advice has been invaluable. Whilst I was not expecting to sell the company at this stage, the opportunity from Enreach was too good to turn down. The Knight team ensured that we got the right deal for everyone at Network Telecom and the transaction could be completed efficiently with the minimum of disruption to the business.

    Paul Maxfield

    Network Telecom

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