Altium advised on 38 deals as market recovered

INVESTMENT bank Altium said it advised on 38 deals during the year, with three in the last quarter.

Chief executive Phil Adams said he expected momentum in the deals market to continue throughout 2014.

In the past three months Manchester-based Altium advised on the sale of online retailer ActivInstinct to JD Sports; the sale of Crewe-based healthcare provider Baywater Healthcare to mid-market private equity group Duke Street; and the sale of oil and gas recruitment company Mentor IMC Group to European-based VINCI Energies.

Earlier in the year Altium worked on the acquisition of travel comparison site Icelolly.com by Palatine Private Equity; the £57.5m sale of software and IT services provider Ascribe Group to Bolton-based clinical software supplier EMIS Group; the buyout of Buoyant Upholstery backed by NVM Private Equity; the acquisition of Ultimate Finance Group by Renovo and the sale of OilandGasJobSearch.com to Careerbuilder.
 
Mr Adams said: “2013 has been another good year for the group both in the UK and internationally. As the economy shows signs of improvement we expect more in the way of deal activity in 2014 and beyond. The recent appointment of Christopher Jones as managing director adds to our consumer team, as he brings with him a wealth of expertise in travel, leisure and e-commerce.”