15 January 2026
In this Meet the Dealmakers blog, we speak with Martin Athey, Partner at Translink Corporate Finance UK, about his career path into corporate finance, the evolution of the landscape, the skills he believes make a successful dealmaker, and the trends shaping the market today.
Martin also takes on our quick-fire profile, sharing insights into his interests, favourite motivation hacks, support for Bradford City FC, and his passion for sport and ultra marathons.
Martin began his career in audit and accounts before moving into Corporate Finance in 2006. Since then, he has advised on a wide range of matters including acquisitions, disposals and flotations, as well as complex cross-border transactions.
Now leading Transaction Services at Translink Corporate Finance UK, he supports clients in making multi-million-pound decisions.
Can you share your career journey and what led you into corporate finance?
I began my career via a fairly typical route in a large regional practice, where I worked in accounts and audit while qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. In 2006, I moved internally into a Corporate Finance role and have stayed in the field ever since.
After gaining some experience for a year or so, I joined a national firm where I spent 12 years working in roles across M&A, due diligence and flotations, ultimately leading the regional Transaction Services team.
In 2019, I started at Translink Corporate Finance to establish its Transaction Services offering, which provides financial and tax due diligence, as well as SPA advisory support, to corporate acquirers, private equity, and debt funds.
How has the corporate finance landscape changed since you started your career?
When I first entered Corporate Finance, due diligence was often seen as a ‘box-ticking’ exercise. That changed after the credit crunch, when high-quality due diligence became central to the deal process – a trend reinforced by Covid-19 and today’s uncertain political and economic climate.
Our due diligence findings play a critical role in shaping a client’s deal strategy, sometimes determining whether a transaction goes ahead or not. Great Transaction Services means guiding clients through deals with their eyes wide open and ensuring they are fully aware of risks and opportunities; we need to be able to help them navigate through all of the financial issues that can arise.
The world has become a much smaller place, meaning that a high proportion of deals have a cross-border element to factor in, be it a large scale international acquisition, or just an overseas trading subsidiary which needs to be understood.
As we all know, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic across the wider business environment. From accelerating data analysis to allowing us to provide insights beyond standard management information, AI can enhance our work.
AI, however, should remain a tool – not a replacement for human judgement. I believe the main advantage of AI will be to give us more relevant information more quickly, and these efficiencies will allow us advisors to spend more time on the value-added part of the service; interpreting the data and providing opinions and quality advice to our clients.
On a less serious note, the leather-bound Filofax that I proudly clutched as a fresh-faced entrant into the Corporate Finance world seems to be becoming a rarer artefact, replaced by digital notebooks and software generated meeting transcripts!
What skills do you think are most crucial for a successful dealmaker?
It’s critical to remain open minded; every deal is different, and a good advisor will often need to get creative rather than follow the well-trodden path.
I also feel that resilience, having a can-do attitude, and ability to solve problems is essential. Having a desire to get involved in other initiatives away from your day to day role, be it internal committees and projects at work, or volunteering externally, helps with broadening your experiences and applying this to a deal process.
Unexpected issues will always arise, and things do go wrong. Whilst it might be natural to panic at first, it’s important to remain calm and draw on your experience to break down the problem and find a way forward.
A sense of humour also helps!
Is there a sector or type of deal you particularly enjoy working on?
We have key sectors that we have more experience in, but we remain sector agnostic as a rule.
From a due diligence perspective, I feel that having experience of a wide range of sectors can help bring new ideas and solutions to a particular situation.
Being based in the North I’ve worked with many manufacturing businesses over the years. I find these businesses are led by interesting and skilled people who have built their companies up from a product concept to an established player in their market.
They always have a unique way of looking at things and a good story to tell.
What trends are you currently seeing in the M&A market?
We’re seeing a high-level of opportunities right now so we’re having a busy time!
Cross-border activity is becoming more prevalent, having recently worked on deals with businesses in the Nordic countries, US and Australia. Our private equity and debt fund clients are also eager to deploy funds.
Deal timetables can sometimes be stretched as acquirers and investors are taking extra care to consider the ongoing economic and political uncertainty.
Some sectors face greater challenges than others – particularly people-intensive businesses impacted by rising salary costs. As a result, demand for high-quality due diligence should remain strong, as our clients need to understand the full financial picture.
What do you enjoy most about working in corporate finance?
No day is the same with a lot of variety in the work that we do and the individuals that we meet.
We support clients in making multi-million-pound decisions that have a real impact on businesses and lives. It comes with pressure but it’s always pleasing to get a deal done, and after a few quiet days I’m always eager to dive into the next project!
Quick-fire profile
What was your first job?
My first ever job was delivering the newspaper whilst at high school, and then my first full time role was working in a cake factory before entering the world of accountancy!
What’s your go-to coffee or hot drink order?
A flat white, or the occasional Irish coffee if its later in the day!
Do you have a productivity hack to keep motivated?
Where possible, do the difficult stuff at the start of the day. And make sure you have a quick break, move around, or do something else every hour to refresh the mind.
Remember to delegate to free up time to focus on other areas, but make sure it’s in a controlled and fair way. The best way for your team to learn is by giving them the opportunity to try new things and gain different experiences.
If you didn’t work in corporate finance, what would you do?
If I didn’t work in corporate finance, I’d enjoy being around the sporting world in some capacity.
I used to be the kitman for my local running club and I am now involved in junior football coaching. A recent tour for our team involved some of the matches taking place on Holland – which was a great experience.
What do you like to do at the weekend?
Over the years I’ve done lots of long-distance running; marathons and ultra marathons. I also enjoy spending time outdoors in the countryside with my family and our dog Timmy, and the ups and downs of following Bradford City FC!
