Qualified as an ACA and moving into transaction services by the age of 23, Darra McCarthy-Paul, an assistant manager at Quantuma, tells Jo Russell about setting off on her career path early.
What attracted you to an apprenticeship rather than going to university?
I had studied business at A level, enjoyed it and wanted to pursue this interest further. I looked at my options – either going to university or taking on an apprenticeship – because I had received an unconditional university offer. But an apprenticeship won the day – it would give me practical work experience while I was being paid and I would also be qualified at a young age.
I joined BDO in 2017, but switched to Quantuma in Southampton after a year. The firm had a good reputation in the area and it was looking for someone junior to train. I joined to work in the restructuring and insolvency team.
How important was getting the ACA qualification?
I was the first person at Quantuma to do the ACA, so I helped it set up the process and the ACA training scheme. It already offered the ACCA qualification and we had ACAs, but at that point they had qualified with other firms. I had started the ACA and knew that its good reputation would stand me in excellent stead. I really wanted to continue training and Quantuma was very supportive.
Coming straight from college, I found the studying was quite a steep learning curve. It wasn’t a real disadvantage not having a degree, but I probably did have to put in more work. I didn’t have any prior accounting knowledge either, and it was tricky balancing work and study, but I’m quite disciplined and organised, and was prepared to make sacrifices with my time. You definitely get out what you put in.
Why did you move from restructuring to M&A?
In restructuring I learned how to cope with tense situations, dealing with cash-restricted businesses and owners facing a lot of pressure. Then, shortly after I qualified in 2022, an opportunity came up in Quantuma’s transaction services team. I was looking to move and the timing worked well – I wanted to build my commercial knowledge and learn new skills such as financial modelling and negotiations, and I was keen to work with thriving businesses that we could help continue their growth journeys. I have really enjoyed meeting passionate entrepreneurs and learning about their businesses.
While in restructuring and insolvency, I learned a lot from administrations. In corporate finance we are extending our offering in accelerated M&A, and having an insolvency and restructuring background has meant that I understand the requirements that administrators or insolvency practitioners face when they need to market a business – for example pre-packaged sales conforming with SIP16.
What is your role now?
I am now an assistant manager in the corporate finance team. We do mostly sell-side M&A advisory work, where I will prepare marketing materials, carry out research on potential acquirers, do financial modelling, outreach, review heads of terms and negotiate with sellers. I have also worked on growth capital raises, employee ownership trust transactions and accelerated M&A. We are sector agnostic, so we cover anything from healthcare to manufacturing to fintech; our sweet spot is in the £5m-£50m transaction value range. We have three MDs, two directors and an associate director leading our team.
What recent transactions have you advised on?
I helped with the £2m sale of online luxury homeware retailer Amara Living to Frasers Group last year, and advised on the accelerated sale of an unfinished fintech platform that provided funding to SMEs. I have just completed on my first EOT, which is due to be announced shortly. My biggest role to date is currently under way. It is a sell-side M&A transaction. Given its smaller size, I have been able to take on a more senior role in the transaction. It should be completed soon.
What are your ambitions?
I want to keep learning and progressing within the team, to the point where I am regularly leading transactions. We have a varied portfolio and no two transactions are the same, which means there’s always something else to learn.
Quantuma was bought by K3 Capital Group in August 2020, and then by a US private equity house in February this year. We are yet to see the full impact of that, but expect it will open up opportunities, possibly overseas.