AI International Finance Awards 2017

Acquisition International - International Finance Awards 2017 3 Goal Group Limited McCracken Advisory Partners International Securities Class Actions Recovery Firm of the Year - UK Most Trusted M&A Investment Banking Firm - USA Goal Group Limited McCracken Advisory Partners Goal Group Limited is a company dedicated to helping the world’s largest financial institutions maximise investor returns. We invited Vicky Dean, Director of Sales & Relationship Management at Goal Group to tell us more about the firm. McCracken Advisory Partners is an international investment banking firm focused on mergers and acquisitions. Keith McCracken tells us more about the firm and the range of services it offers in this vital sector. FN170001 FN170005 Goal Group was established in 1989, and is headquartered in London, expanding across the US and Asia Pacific, where each office is staffed by local tax, legal and securities experts. It’s market-leading proprietary software and systems provide the highest levels of data security and process automation, offering investors an efficient and cost-effective way to reclaim tax on cross-border dividend income and participate in securities class actions. Vicky outlines the firm’s mission and what steps they take to reach their goal. “AT Goal Group we offer a truly global, secure service which includes the initial alert notification, loss calculations, completion and submission of the relevant claim documentation and subsequent collection of the compensation monies. Goal Group’s client web portals offer a powerful reporting function on both securities class actions recoveries and withholding tax reclaims. The online reporting portals give clients secure access to their accounts to view statements, browse libraries of information, generate multilingual client and audit trail reports and provide the means for them to upload and transfer non- confidential documentation.” Alongside this, Vicky explains how they stand out from their competitors in the way of client relationship and making sure the clients get the best McCracken provides sell-side and buy-side counsel to advertising, marketing services and media agencies and to marketing technology firms. Keith talks us through how the firm works to ensure that these clients receive the very highest standard of service which meets their individual needs. “Here at McCracken we thoughtfully advise clients on how to maximize value through organic growth trajectories, acquisitions and exit strategies. At McCracken, we understand the client-driven, culture- critical and people-centric aspects of the business – the very factors that often define the odds of a successful deal and mutually rewarding post- transaction relationship for both buyer and seller. “Fundamentally, our clients are not looking for approximately the right deal. They are seeking precisely the right deal with precisely the right partner. “We dig deeper, build stronger relationships, ask tougher questions and relentlessly pursue complete answers to optimize the value of every aspect of the transaction”. “Overall, buying or selling a company is about more than the money. Price is only the beginning. Cultural fit is crucial. Optimizing the earn-out is vital. As such at McCracken, we operate by this principal and customize our time-tested approach and proven process to help each client achieve extraordinary outcomes.” Moving forward, McCracken’s ongoing focus will be on growth and further expansion, as Keith is keen to emphasise. “Looking to the future, we want to continue to grow even further, whilst at the same time retaining our ability to serve every client with our most experienced people being heavily involved from start to finish. We are not willing to sacrifice the quality of our work or the hugely important outcomes our clients deserve and trust McCracken to deliver, and this commitment will be the focus of our future growth strategy.” out of their service, also alluding to the enjoyable working culture at the firm. “Goal Group operates in a niche position in financial services and it is the only class actions and tax reclaim company to have global processing capability to service its clients locally. The firm also offers the highest levels of data security and process automation. Office politics and “can’t do” are simply not a part of our business culture; our people are treated with respect and are trusted to deliver without being micro-managed. This in turn, ensures a premier service delivery.” Looking ahead, Goal has a number of exciting opportunities in store as it seeks to grow even further and provide its clients with an even wider service offering, as Vicky concludes. “Moving forward, we are preparing the company for a potential AIM listing and, as an integral part of this strategy, we are launching two new products which will leverage our current technologies whilst generating significant annuity revenues.” Contact: Keith McCracken Contact Email: keith@mccrackenap.com Address: 5200 Willson Road, Suite 150, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55424, USA Phone: 001 952 922 8140 Contact: : Director of Sales & Relationship Management EMEA & Global Director of Withholding Tax Sales Vicky Dean Contact Email: vdean@goalgroup.com Address: Ground floor, 69 Park Lane, Croydon, CR9 1BG, UK Phone: +44 (0) 208 760 7130 Webstie: www.goalgroup.com