Chris Potts

Chris followed an unconventional route into finance, spending the first nine years of his working life as a Royal Marines Commando. During this time he developed the ability to lead diverse teams and manage projects encompassing multiple workstreams to successful conclusions, often in high-pressure environments.

After leaving the military he spent four years as part of PKF FC’s Corporate Services team marrying his existing skillsets to technical accountancy expertise, qualifying as an ACA Chartered Accountant and advancing from trainee to lead Senior for some of our most complex audit clients including international groups with up to £60m turnover.
Seeking a more commercial role where he could add truly significant value for our clients, he then joined our Corporate Finance team. He has since managed or advised on a wide variety of transactions in multiple sectors, recently including:

• the sale of the Graytone group, a distributor of coatings and composites to the aerospace, defence and energy sectors, to French company ADDEV Materials;
• the acquisition of a majority stake in lettings agency Ascend Properties by Gatehouse Bank plc, including due diligence and buy-side advice;
• financial modelling and an equity fundraise for OOMF!, a high-protein breakfast manufacturer; and
• the restructuring and debt-backed management buy-out of Crondall Energy Consultants, an international technical consultancy firm in the floating and subsea energy sector.

Away from work, Chris spends his time on the golf course, competing in half and full Iron-distance triathlon events and trying to keep up with his young daughter Maggie.