Chris
Thompson

WHO I HELP 

A Wide Range of Businesses. From Owner Managed and Family Owned Businesses up to Large Corporates.  

HOW I HELP 

Advise business owners on either buying another business or selling their own business.  

SECTORS/SUPPORT 

Advise across all sectors, with a keen focus on family businesses and businesses in the Construction, Property and Technology sectors. 

“I ALWAYS TAKE A LEVEL-HEADED APPROACH.”  

Chris Thompson is a Director in our Corporate Finance team. As well as leading and supporting the growth of the team, he provides advice to companies who want to acquire other businesses, or advises owners who want to sell their business.  

Based in Glasgow, Chris is kept busy winning new deals, either across Central Scotland or throughout the UK. He also sits on the Construction and Property team and the Family Business sector teams. Highly experienced, hardworking and an easy person to get along with, he takes great pleasure in seeing his team develop, and providing an exceptional service to his clients.  

MEASURED ADVICE 

“I work hard for my clients – because I want to do the best for them. I’m always entirely honest, and like to act as a sounding board and a trusted advisor. My priority is ensuring my clients make the right decisions. Not only for their business, but for them personally, and perhaps even their extended family, when dealing with Family Businesses.  

If someone is selling a business, I always encourage them to take a step back and think it through. Why are you selling? Are you doing it for the right reasons? Is now the best time? It’s bringing that level-headedness to ensure they don’t rush into anything and then regret it later.”  

SUPPORTING AND GUIDING  

“I find it fascinating working with so many different business owners. And I admire them too. They’ve grown their own business, which is something that I’ve never done – probably because I’m too risk-averse!  

Particularly with family businesses, I enjoy being a part of all the trials and tribulations, working with generations of people, and understanding the family dynamics. That’s what I love. And of course, buying or selling a business can be a very daunting process – so to be a trusted adviser who can guide clients through that process is a position that I always feel very privileged to be in.” 

HUNGRY FOR THE WIN  

“I think we punch above our weight at AAB. We’ve been the most active dealmakers in Scotland for 16 years. This was one of the main reasons why I wanted to join the company. If we want to keep that up – and make it happen, we need to keep pushing ourselves.  

There’s definitely a feistiness, a hunger here to drive that growth. We don’t have recurring work each year as you’d see in our audit department for example. We need to constantly have our foot on the gas – and just go out and connect with as many people as we can.”  

MEETING THE CHALLENGE 

“I guess the biggest challenge for me and my team, is working with unpredictable circumstances. If my client is selling a business or buying a business, there are so many moving parts that can impact a deal. So many emotions. It’s a living, breathing thing. And if a business has a few bad months, that can have an impact on what a buyer is willing to pay for it.  

So it’s that unpredictability of business, of individuals, that is difficult to manage. But it’s something that I’m very experienced at. And you know, I actually relish the challenge. I’m always 100% focused on delivering a great result for my clients. And at AAB, that’s not hard, because we’re very good at what we do.”