William Buck has strengthened its South Australian Corporate Finance team with two senior appointments and promotion of a new Head of the growing division.
John Marsden and Matt Darling have joined the now 10-strong William Buck Corporate Finance team led by Samantha Nicholls.
Mr Marsden, who takes on the role of Partner, is a highly experienced corporate finance professional and proven deal advisory leader.
Mr Darling joins William Buck in the role of Principal, having worked as a corporate finance advisor specialising in mergers and acquisitions.
Ms Nicholls has been promoted to Head of the new look Corporate Finance team having been with William Buck since 2007 and appointed a Partner in 2021.
The new appointments come as William Buck Corporate Finance in Adelaide reported an almost doubling in the value of transactions completed over the past financial year on which it had advised.
Over the 2025 financial year, William Buck SA advised on 10 transactions valued at over $200 million, up from more than $100 million (8 transactions) the previous year. The FY2025 deals included MyVenue’s partnership with Greater Sum Ventures and Yumbah Aquaculture’s merger with Clean Seas Seafood.
This brings the total value of transactions William Buck SA has advised on to more than $620 million since its Corporate Finance division was established in July 2013.
Ms Nicholls said William Buck Corporate Finance was well positioned for future growth.
“John and Matt are valuable additions to our team as we set a growth path for the years ahead,” she said.
“In the past few months, we have received a strong amount of transaction-related inquiry from buyers and sellers.”
“On the buy side, there is a lot of dry powder in the SA market right now, particularly from private equity funds seeking to invest in quality businesses.”
“At the same time, we’re also noticing a pick-up in interest from private syndicates, particularly well networked high net worth individuals looking to spread their investment exposure.”
“On the sell-side, there’s a large number of local baby boomers preparing to exit or retire.”
“With interest rates still relatively low, the outlook for the local M&A market into next year and beyond is positive.”
- About Samantha Nicholls
Samantha began her career with William Buck in 2007 as a graduate and has risen through the ranks to become the Head of Corporate Finance. Samantha combines her experience in business advisory and corporate finance to navigate diverse matters effectively including M&A transactions, banking restructures and business turnarounds.
- About John Marsden
With more than 20 years’ experience of in-house and external corporate advisory in Australia and overseas, John provides high level practical advice and solutions. Prior to joining William Buck, John was Corporate Finance Principal at a large mining and metals company as well as holding Director positions at Big Four and specialist corporate advisory / restructuring accounting firms.
- About Matt Darling
Matt has a proven track record in both the sell-side and buy-side of commercial transactions with experience spanning industry sectors from healthcare, technology and industrial to manufacturing, consumer and retail. Prior to joining William Buck, Matt worked at a specialist M&A firm and with a Big Four accounting firm.
