The managing director leads the mandate
No handover between pitch and negotiation, and no team in between.
We bridge the gap
- 2003
- founded in Hamburg, owner-led ever since
- 40+
- transactions and mandates
- 8
- countries with cross-border mandates
- 3
- sectors in focus
The firm
How UCF works.
Structured corporate transactions. Since 2003.
Exclusive and free of conflicts
In any transaction UCF acts for one side only, and advises against a deal when it does not serve the client.
From concept to closing
Strategy, structuring, financial projections, valuation, data room, negotiation and, on request, financing advice.
“The person you meet in the first conversation also runs the negotiation.”
Dr. Peter Urbanek·Managing Director and Owner
Track record
Selected transactions
Advising the buyer
Share deal, 100 per cent, buy-sideto
Transport and logistics, pharmaceutical and food logistics
Advising the seller
Asset deal, sell-sideto
Waste management / circular economy
Advising the seller
Partial privatisation, PPP, EU tender procedureto
Waste management, public private partnership
Advising the seller
Share deal, majority stake, sell-sideto
Metals trading, high-performance materials
Advising the seller
Equity investment, successionto
Equipment for hazardous material remediation
Advising the seller
Portfolio sale, sell-sideto
Hotels / real estate
Advising the buyer
Share deal, 100 per cent, buy-sideto
Waste management
Clients and counterparties
Process
Selling a company
Nine steps, from the engagement letter to completion. Most owners go through this once. We go through it every time.
Month 1From the engagement letterMonth 9
01|Month 1
Engagement
Scope, fee and mandate are set down in writing, together with the question of who on the seller's side is in the know. Work begins only after that.
- What is produced
- Engagement letter
- The step is complete when
- the engagement letter has been signed.
A transaction usually runs over six to nine months.
Sectors
Sector expertise
Circular economy, waste management & recycling
Transport & logistics
Healthcare
Further sectors
- Privatisations & PPP
- Packaging & speciality films
- Building materials
- Metals trading & high-performance materials
- Speciality chemicals
- Hotels
- Food & speciality food
- Engineering services for oil, gas and offshore wind
Reach
The buyer is rarely next door.
Anyone selling a company rarely finds the right buyer in their own region. In our sectors we know who is active and where they are based. The transactions below crossed a national border.
Cross-border mandates
- Switzerland: BIBUS, Sager AG
- United Kingdom: CeDo, Rutland Partners
- Finland: Wipak, Wihuri
- USA: Silverfern, New York
- Australia: Macquarie, Sydney
- Spain: Aqualia, Madrid
- France: Suez, Paris
- Austria: Vienna International
Team
Personal advice.
Alexander Linnemann
Associated Partner, since June 2026
University of St. Gallen, Aarhus BSS, Copenhagen Business School
Eight years in portfolio management, alternatives research and capital introductions for institutional and family office clients. Founder of AssetBridge Services in Copenhagen; previously Head of Equities at Schmiegelow Fondsmæglerselskab.
Dr. Wolfgang Grimme
Project Lead Healthcare
Former district administrator, business graduate, PhD in Economics
Advises private and public organisations on strategy, restructuring and organisational development. Managing director of a general hospital, a care home and a medical care centre; restructured and privatised a municipal hospital.
News
Market commentary and news.
Appointment
11 September 2026
Two new colleagues
Alexander Linnemann joins UCF as Associated Partner, Luis Dieterle has been with us as Associate since September 2026.
Newsletter
25 March 2026
Healthcare mobility
The market for patient transport and mobility services for people with disabilities faces a turning point in 2026. With EUR 9.6 billion in payer spending, up 75 per cent since 2019, and more than 55 million journeys a year, demand is rising fast while…
Newsletter
25 March 2026
M&A in the circular economy
For a long time one simple rule applied in the circular economy: a call to Lünen, Neckarsulm or Berlin/Hamburg was enough, and a company's future was secured by one of the three market leaders. The reality in 2026…
Every transaction begins with a conversation.
Speak to us