Senior bankers launch boutique M&A firm Pura Advisory
Richard O’Donnell (ex-Clearwater International), Gbolahan Ladipo (ex-Deutsche Numis) and Dane Phillips (ex-Gotham Street) join forces to provide hands-on, partner-led advice
Charitable element at the core of Pura’s ethos with 2.5% of revenue committed to charity Hatch Enterprise to support underrepresented entrepreneurs
London, 2nd April 2025. Pura Advisory officially launches today, co-founded by three senior corporate finance professionals to provide hands-on, partner-led corporate finance advice to mid-market businesses across the UK, and internationally, leveraging the partners’ extensive global networks.
Pura Advisory’s approach is built on deep sector expertise, including tech, media, consumer, retail, leisure, real estate and business services, with the founders having experience advising on deals from £10 million to over £1 billion. Hitting the ground running, the firm launched today with a team of seven, including Senior Advisor Steve Cordiner, ex-Livingbridge and Gresham House.
Pura Advisory has also partnered with Hatch Enterprise, a national charity that supports underrepresented entrepreneurs from across the UK to imagine, launch, and grow businesses that are sustainable, successful, and have a positive and lasting impact on their communities. Not only is Pura committing 2.5% of revenue to Hatch Enterprise, but will also be offering mentorship and skill sharing to the entrepreneurs that are part of the programmes.
The founding partners are: Richard O’Donnell, who has spent 21 years advising founders and private equity funds on transactions across the consumer & leisure sector, including the sale of Yew Tree Dairy to Müller (nominated for International Deal of the Year in 2024) and the sale of Hill Biscuits for LDC (winner of Deal of the Year in the £10-50 million category in 2024). Richard has previously led the European Consumer & Leisure teams at both Clearwater International and Canaccord Genuity and began his career at UBS.
Gbolahan Ladipo, is a highly experienced senior banker, most recently at Deutsche Numis, delivering primary capital raises to power growth in private companies. Prior roles include Executive Director EMEA M&A at Nomura (where he ran the EMEA sell-side practice), and investment banking at UBS. He has an extensive track record of successfully originating and executing transactions across a wide range of sectors particularly in tech, media and real estate, with private and publicly listed companies, both in the UK and internationally. Notable deals, amongst many others, include advising on a $300m primary capital raise for Wiz, and advising Kyoto Distillery on its sale to Pernod Ricard.
Dane Phillips has successfully advised on 30+ capital raise, buyside and sell-side transactions in the media, technology and entertainment space over the last 15+ years. Having started his mid-market career at professional services firm Grant Thornton, Dane has spent the majority of his career successfully operating within the boutique M&A advisory space, initially with ACF Investment Bank (now part of The Forest Road Company) before becoming a partner at NOR Capital (now part of Brian, Garnier & Co). In 2020, he founded his own boutique advisory firm, Gotham Street, growing a particularly strong franchise within the video content eco-system.
Richard O’Donnell commented: “After more than 20 years in corporate finance, launching Pura Advisory is an exciting new chapter. We have a wealth of experience to work with businesses, entrepreneurs and private equity, at a time when deal volumes are growing, and private markets are in the spotlight. We believe Pura Advisory is well positioned to provide high-quality, partner-led advice to businesses across the UK.”
Gbolahan Ladipo added: “I have had a fantastic career at top-tier institutions and I am delighted to be able to launch Pura Advisory with my fellow co-founders, bringing together our complementary set of skills to provide hands-on partner led advice. Being at the heart of a deal is what I love the most and at Pura Advisory, we will ensure that our clients get the quality of advice that their businesses deserve. In addition to this, we want to give back, and we are delighted to announce our commitment to provide 2.5% of our revenue to Hatch Enterprise, as well as mentorship for underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Dane Phillips commented: “The UK mid-market continues to flourish. We feel that now is the perfect time to launch a dedicated advisory firm to meet a growing demand as many of our competitors have moved up market, losing sight of what matters most to founder-run businesses in the process. At Pura Advisory, our partner group will lead from the front, providing best-in-class corporate finance advice to growing companies run by people like us.”
Hatch Enterprise Managing Director Rebekah Capon said: “We are delighted that Pura Advisory has chosen to support Hatch in this way, putting support for underrepresented entrepreneurs at the heart of its business model. This new partnership will enable us to provide the support needed to level the playing field for founders across the UK, building a better and fairer system for everyone looking to launch their own venture.”
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Media Contact:
Kelsey Traynor
07495470187
Notes to editors
Pura Advisory
Pura Advisory is a boutique M&A advisory firm, providing hands-on, partner-led corporate finance advice to mid-market businesses across the UK, and internationally, leveraging the partners’ extensive global networks.
Pura Advisory’s approach is built on deep sector expertise, including tech, media, consumer, retail, leisure, real estate and business services. The firm has a team of seven, including Senior Advisor Steve Cordiner, ex-Livingbridge and Gresham House.
Hatch Enterprise
Hatch Enterprise is a national charity that supports underrepresented entrepreneurs from across the UK to imagine, launch, and grow businesses that are sustainable, successful, and have a positive and lasting impact on their communities.
Hatch Enterprise is committed to building a fairer society by helping develop entrepreneurs’ skills, knowledge, and confidence through unique programmes designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, and their sustainable, compassionate financial support offering.
It is a charity with a strong business mindset. Since 2014, Hatch Enterprise has supported more than 9,000 UK entrepreneurs to flourish, building a vibrant network of partners, funders, and investors who share their vision in the process.