A year of deals and team growth for corporate finance team

Grant Thornton’s Midlands corporate finance team says it has achieved growth in deals and team expansion amid “challenging” market conditions.

Promotions include Harry Gabriel, who has risen to the position of director after joining the firm in 2014.

Gabriel oversees the healthcare sector at Grant Thornton.

Additionally, promotions to manager were granted to Harry Aston and Lydia Bullock, while Harnil Motivaras joins as a manager, to add to the team’s East Midlands presence.

The firm, with offices in Nottingham and Birmingham in the Midlands, has achieved notable deals, including Daikin Applied’s acquisition of Brooktherm Refrigeration Ltd and the majority sale of Godiva Bearings to Roko. Another transaction involved the sale of Nowcomm to FourNet.

Despite challenges in the M&A marketplace, the team remains optimistic for 2024, supported by a strong pipeline of deals and new team members.

Nick Gillott, head of industrials at the firm’s Birmingham office, said: “It is well-publicised that the M&A market has slowed significantly compared to where we were in 2021 and early 2022. Political and economic uncertainty continue to put pressure on deal timetables, but there is plenty of funding ready to be deployed for the right assets and we continue to see appetite from both domestic and overseas acquirers as they bolster their capabilities and footprint.

“Despite the more challenging market conditions, there is a resilient market for high-quality assets. While we anticipate that the market will remain more difficult relative to the period post-Covid, we are optimistic as we enter 2024 with a strong pipeline and expect recent momentum in deal activity to continue.

“The promotions and appointments within the team are a result of our continued investment into the Midlands, as we continue to see great potential and access to a strong pool of talent here.

Gabriel said: “I am delighted to continue my development with Grant Thornton and support Nick in growing our business. Our regional focus, coupled with our deep expertise across a range of key sectors is driving our strong pipeline of activity well into 2024 working with both dynamic, outward-facing and resilient regional businesses and ambitious international clients looking for acquisitions in the UK.”