Nicola Merritt

Nicola is the founder and CEO of Cortus Advisory Group and has 20+ years experience operating in the M&A market.

Nicola is an experienced entrepreneur, business leader and Chartered Accountant who has advised on over 250 deals with significant knowledge of the Environmental Consultancy, Engineering and Construction and Logistics sectors. Nicola was previously a partner of Dow Schofield Watts Transaction Services and a Director within KPMG Transaction Services. Nicola was awarded “Changemaker of the Year” by BusinessDesk in 2023, she was the first female in the UK to be awarded “Rainmaker of the Year” in 2024 and is listed in the Insider Media North West Power Professionals Top 50 and Business Cloud’s Top 200 Northern Leaders. Recently, Nicola was also awarded with the accolade of Finance Leader at the Women in Management Top 50 Professional & Career Women UK Awards 2025 and nominated as Outstanding Entrepreneur in the Northern PoWEr Women Awards. Nicola has also led the Cortus team to success with awards including Real Deals Private Equity Financial Due Diligence Provider of the Year and Insider Media’s UK Transaction Services Team of the Year. Nicola is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and passionate about building businesses, delivering exceptional client service, leading by example and helping others achieve their goals.