Financial Analyst – Originations

Job Description:

Financial Analyst – Originations

Purpose of the role

To provide dedicated financial screening, modelling and Investment Committee preparation support for acquisition opportunities across Pallas Software Group.  The role matures the financial insights on targets, so that every Portfolio Manager has early access to rigorous, consistent analysis that can advance the PQs and Modelling before handing across to the M&A Execution team for final checking and approvals.

The role sits within the Finance function already attached to the Pallas Portfolio, working across all Portfolio Managers. The resource is deployed flexibly to whichever Portfolio Manager has a live origination or diligence need at a given time, working under the direction of the Finance Director to prioritise across competing demands.

Scope of Coverage

• Verticals: all software verticals held across the Pallas Software Group portfolio. The role is not dedicated to any single vertical and takes direction from the Finance Director on where to prioritise effort.

• Geography: United Kingdom and Ireland as the core market, extending to other European geographies as individual Portfolio Managers' mandates require.

• Deal types: platform acquisitions and bolt, on acquisitions into existing business units, as directed by the relevant Portfolio Manager.

• Deal size: predominantly owner, managed and founder, led businesses below the size threshold that attracts a competitive banked process.

Key Responsibilities

Screening and origination support

• Screen inbound and adviser, introduced opportunities, from any part of the group, against group investment criteria and hurdle rates, recommending pursue, watch, list or pass with a written rationale.

• Maintain and refresh target maps and market intelligence for the verticals each Portfolio Manager is actively assessing, using public, paid and proprietary sources.

• Support Portfolio Managers' adviser and intermediary relationships by logging opportunities promptly and coordinating timely follow, up.

• Monitor market events, funding rounds, leadership changes, competitor acquisitions and distress signals and flag relevant opportunities to the appropriate Portfolio Manager.

Modelling, analysis and execution

• Build acquisition models from source data: revenue quality and recurring revenue analysis, customer cohort and churn analysis, maintenance and net revenue retention trends, normalised EBITDA, working capital, cash conversion, IRR and payback under base, downside and upside cases.

• Prepare Investment Committee papers and offer support material, investment thesis, valuation range and bridge, key risks, integration assumptions and returns scenarios.

• Support the central execution team and Portfolio Managers in coordinating due diligence workstreams across finance, legal, technical and people contributors; maintain the diligence tracker and issues log; translate findings into model and price adjustments.

• Support deal structuring: consideration split, earn, out mechanics and metric definition, deferred consideration, escrow and set, off, and operational ring, fence provisions.

• Track post, completion performance against the acquisition model and feed variances back into future underwriting, across all portfolios the role has supported.

Pipeline management and reporting.

• Own pipeline management jointly with the BD Manager: the BD Manager owns origination and outreach volume, this role owns the financial qualification and status of each target, and the two work from a shared, current view of the pipeline.

• Own the capturing of notes and information recorded in the group CRM, on behalf of whichever Portfolio Manager the work relates to.

• Produce a standing pipeline report for the Portfolio and Finance Director covering coverage by vertical and geography, stage conversion rates, and pipeline ageing across the group.

• Maintain a competitive and valuation reference set spanning the verticals in which the group is active.

Person Specification

Essential

• Minimum of 2 years experience in a financial analysis role with direct exposure to M&A: transaction services, corporate development, lower midmarket M&A, or growth/debt finance
• Genuine modelling capability — able to build an acquisition model from messy management accounts and a trial balance without a template, and to defend the assumptions in front of an Investment Committee.

• Understanding of software business economics: recurring revenue, retention and expansion, gross margin structure, implementation and services drag, and hosting costs.

• Comfortable working across multiple stakeholders and priorities at once, taking direction from the Finance Director on where to focus effort at any given time.

• Credible with a Portfolio Manager and a founder's finance director in the same week. Writes clearly and concisely.

• Self, directing, with sound judgement on when to escalate and when to proceed.

• Desirable

  • Exposure to vertical market software, in any sector.
  • Experience in a buy, and, build, holding company or serial, acquirer environment with a high, volume, small, ticket deal model.
  • Familiarity with earn out design and post, acquisition performance measurement.
  • Working knowledge of share purchase agreements, disclosure letters and warranty and indemnity insurance, sufficient to work effectively with counsel rather than to replace them.
  • Additional European languages considered a bonus

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More About Jonas Software:

Jonas Software is a leading provider of enterprise management software solutions, serving a wide range of vertical markets including hospitality, healthcare, construction, education, personal care, fitness, leisure, moving and legal services, to name a few. Within these markets, Jonas is comprised of over 65 distinct brands, each a respected leader in its domain.

Jonas’ vision is to be the branded global leader across these verticals and to be recognized by customers and industry stakeholders as the trusted provider of “Software for Life.” We are committed to technology, product innovation, quality, and exceptional customer service.

Jonas Software supports over 60,000 customers in more than 30 countries. We employ over 6,000 skilled professionals, including industry experts and technology specialists. Across our broader network, we support a global workforce of more than 30,000 employees.

Headquartered in Canada, Jonas Software has a global footprint with offices around the world. We’re a 100% owned subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc., based in Toronto, publicly listed on the TSX (CSU.TO), and a member of the S&P/TSX 60 Index.

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