a provider of strategic financial and transaction advisory services in Poland and for international markets.
Many shareholders of large private and listed companies already trust us. If you have to manage a difficult and challenging business project, and are seeking an experienced advisor combining guaranteed professionalism, an out-of-the-box approach and confidentiality, you have come to the right place.
See the different sections of our website to discover how we can help you meet your challenges.
These are typically transaction-related services. We provide comprehensive advice to domestic and foreign investors who need to dynamise the development of their companies by taking over other entities.
For the seller, we identify potential investors, prepare the offer documents and negotiate investment exit terms that are optimum from the financial, tax-related and legal perspectives. We also offer consultation services on mergers, where the key task is to convince the partners to a specific asset exchange parity and to choose an appropriate transaction structure. We also support the client in obtaining funding for their transactions. Find out more about Mergers & Acquisitions.
a group of advisory services of diverse and individual natures, their common feature being the recommendation on how to optimise company value from the perspective of its owners..
After the initial period of dynamic progress, a company often has a number of mutually exclusive strategic development paths from which to choose. Our task is to analyse comprehensively all the strategic options (including the financial, tax and legal aspects), and create potential solutions for the client that will optimise the value of their assets at a risk level they find acceptable. Find out more about Strategic Financial Advice.
this is addressed primarily to companies in a difficult financial position. Together with the client, we prepare restructuring plans to present to creditors. We seek alternative funding solutions that are adapted to the possibilities available to the companies under restructuring. Find out more about restructuring.
we provide comprehensive assessments and reviews of various types of investment undertakings, and we prepare the data and materials required to obtain funding.We assist the client with advice on negotiating loan agreements with banks and seeking funding from private equity funds. Find out more about Arrangement of Funding.
We support groups of companies in exercising supervision over their subsidiaries by serving on Supervisory Boards and Audit Committees.
We develop effective reporting systems for capital groups. Find out more about Corporate Governance.
Contact us, because we are expert at resolving all kinds of corporate finance problems.
The PLCF Team comprises two experienced financial and transaction advisors - Piotr Łagowski and Ewa Torosian (see our résumés below) and our network of partners in Poland and abroad – legal advisors, tax advisors, auditors and capital market specialists. In this way we can assemble advisory teams that are dedicated to the specific needs of each client. Such a business model gives us the flexibility and the capacity to handle large projects, whether in Poland or elsewhere.
Founder and Managing Director of PLCF.
Piotr Łagowski is a graduate of the University of Warsaw (UW) Management School, with over 25 years of business experience. His main strengths include versatile expertise, common sense and excellent client relations.
At the beginning of his professional career, he worked for consulting firms and companies managing investment funds created by international financial institutions (Bank ING, Bank Creditanstalt).
Over the next few years, he served on the management boards of leading Polish industrial groups, such as: ZPW Prospan and ZPW Grajewo (currently: Pfleiderer Grajewo SA), the Boryszew Group, and Impexmetal S.A. He worked on a number of restructuring and integration projects for these companies, thus gaining broad experience in the day-to-day operational management of complex industrial groups.
Afterwards he continued his career with a leading Polish financial consultancy company, Pekao Access, where he managed a number of merger & acquisition and financial restructuring projects, and sought funding for Polish and foreign investors pursuing projects in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and the Baltic states.
Since 2009 he has been running his own business, PLCF, a provider of professional corporate finance services. He also serves on the supervisory boards and audit committees of large Polish listed and private companies.
Ewa Torosian is a graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics (SHG). She studied management at the Bocconi University in Milan within the CEMS programme. She has over 15 years of corporate finance experience, gained through involvement in both large international transactions and smaller-scale projects.
At the beginning of her career, she worked for a consultancy company, Peako Access, handling a number of mergers and acquisitions, managing privatisation projects and obtaining funding for leading Polish enterprises.
Over the next few years, as a Merger & Acquisition expert at Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (Orange Polska), she implemented a number of M&A projects for a total transaction value of PLN 1.8 billion.
Throughout her professional life, she has been involved in transactions in the power, chemical, TMT (Technology, Media & Telecommunications), food and healthcare industries.
Here are presented our selected clients and their references
strategic and transaction-related advice for one of Europe’s leading companies from the segment of wood-based boards for a project involving investments in CIS countries (Russia, Ukraine, Baltic states).
advisory services for a project that involved developing a growth strategy for the Impexmetal Group, operating in the segment of non-ferrous metals, as well as assistance in the development of restructuring programmes for selected Group companies.
strategic and transaction-related advice for a leading domestic manufacturer of fertilisers and titanium white in the process of the company being privatised and going public.
transaction advisory services for the management buyout of a leading Polish textile manufacturer.
several years of transaction and strategic advisory services for Poland's leading manufacturer of confectionery and beverages, in the acquisition of other entities in Poland and abroad.
financial advice for PBH S.A. in a project that involved defining a development strategy for a leading Polish clothing chain – Quiosque.
several years of strategic and financial advice for the leader of the Polish rice, groats and bakery products market.
advisory services in a project that involved defining the international development strategy for a group of companies for a Polish manufacturer of industrial furnaces.
transaction and financial advice for the Polish manufacturer of fire-resistant materials in the restructuring of the group of companies.
financial advice for a Polish distributor of food products.
advice for an investment fund in the sale of shares of FPA Group – a leading Polish company from the HR, payroll and accounting outsourcing service segments.
strategic financial advice provided to a leader of the Polish translation and conference service market.
see what our clients say about us
"I’ve been working with Piotr Łagowski for many years. I use him as a regular advisor for mergers, acquisitions and selected corporate finance projects. He also serves on the Supervisory Board of our company. As such, he is highly familiar with our organisation and its needs, thus being able to effectively handle important projects.”
Jan Kolański, CEO of Colian SA
"We have used the advisory services of Piotr Łagowski in a strategic financial project important for our company.”
Paweł Wyrzykowski, CEO of Seco Warwick S.A.
"Piotr Łagowski has been our strategic financial advisor for many years, helping us implement important corporate finance projects. Right from the start of his engagement, he appeared committed, knowledgeable and experienced in project implementation. His thoroughness, adherence to deadlines and professionalism contribute to an image of a trustworthy person whose services we can recommend."
Jarosław Pieniak, CEO of Sonko sp. z o.o.
“As the CEO of Pekao Access, I worked with Piotr Łagowski for many years. Piotr handled large advisory projects in the area of corporate finance for us, both in Poland and in other countries of central and eastern Europe. His main qualities were professionalism, excellent client relations and a practical approach to his projects.”
Grzegorz Mędza
"I used the assistance of Piotr Łagowski in the analysis of the investment options for my fund and the investment exit. Piotr is a versatile and experienced advisor, able to handle an entire acquisition or enterprise sale project in a comprehensive and professional manner.”
Jacek Nitecki, Nitecki Acquisition
Here are just some of our projects
We first gathered all the available information about the condition of the sector of wood-based boards and its market environment (suppliers, recipients, macroeconomic environment) in particular countries, and prepared a list of the existing manufacturers. We thus created a preliminary long list of potential investment targets. Afterwards, we visited the majority of these companies to examine the technical, market and legal issues, and analysed the strategy of the current owners. This resulted in a short list of potential acquisition candidates.
The next step was to negotiate with the owners of the companies from the short list and to establish, for each of them, the opportunities for utilising any synergy and accomplishing the strategic objectives of the Pfleiderer concern if the acquisition were to take place. Since the answer was negative, the concept of market entry through the acquisition of an existing manufacturer was dropped, and subsequent works focused on choosing the optimum location for a greenfield project. This involved many visits and meetings with regional authorities, potential suppliers, recipients and cooperators. The knowledge gained in the process helped us choose a site that ensured the success of the whole undertaking. The investment location was in Novgorod, and was implemented by the Polish part of the concern. It is still the largest investment completed by the Polish company in Russia (worth several hundred million zloty). .
Our task was to manage a project team consisting of Colian experts as well as Irish legal and financial advisors. The mission of the team was to carry out a comprehensive due diligence of the target company, define the synergies, plan the integration and prepare the financial forecasts and appraisals. We were also responsible for the entire negotiation process.
The greatest challenge of the project was the need to build appropriate communications between the buyer, a Polish company, the seller, a global giant in the investment fund sector, the local Irish partners and the management board of the acquiree. This was successfully achieved, and at the end of 2017 a transaction worth EUR 40 million (for shares plus the debt) was finalised. This is the largest investment by a Polish company in Ireland.
The project concerned a relatively small company (revenue below 10 million zloty) but demonstrates well that professional transaction advice services can be useful even in the sale of entities of that size.
Within the project, we carried out preliminary analysis, prepared a full offer documentation, identified the potential investors and gathered their initial offers. Since we received several offers, with some meeting the expectations of the Seller, the project entered phase two. During that phase, we negotiated with selected investors and allowed them to carry out due diligence. Ultimately, the best final offer came from Grant Thorton, who became the new owner of FPA Group, giving the company a chance at further development within a larger organisation.
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