Bumper year for dealmakers accelerates activity at corporate finance team
Accountancy and advisory firm, BDO, advised on 60 corporate finance deals across the North in 2021.
The business also says it completed more than 400 corporate finance deals nationwide last year totalling £46bn in value.
Transactions which involved private equity accounted for over 60% of the deals completed, as the region continued to rebound following the disruption of 2020.
Deals spanned a range of sectors, with notable market activity in technology & media, real estate, manufacturing & engineering, and healthcare & education.
In particular, the firm advised on four completions in four months in the logistics sector.
The deals – which involved five completed in 10 weeks for the Leeds M&A team – included the sale of logistics firm, Cygnia to Wincanton plc, the sale of portable building manufacturer, the Thurston Group to private industrial investment group, The HLD Group of Companies and the sale of drainage industry experts Jet Aire to Adler & Allan, backed by Sun Capital Partners.
The team also handled the sale of luxury books specialist Kingsbury Press Holdings to Bluetree Design and Print, and the investment in Leeds-based thebigword Group – a global language technology company – by US-based equity investor, Susquehanna Private Capital.
Jason Whitworth, M&A partner at BDO in Leeds, said: “The regional marketplace has remained very much open for business in 2021, as highly scalable businesses have continued to pull on the purse strings of eager investors, with private equity funds, in particular, confidently investing significant funds into exciting and fast-growth sectors.
“With a strong deals pipeline across the firm for 2022, there’s little sign of market activity dying down, or investor appetite waning any time soon.
“For ambitious businesses, this presents a perfect opportunity to accelerate their growth plans and capitalise on exceptional market conditions.”
Peter Hemington, head of M&A at BDO added: “2021 has been a remarkable year for dealmakers and activity has been underpinned by the resilience and ambition of the UK’s entrepreneurial businesses.
“Our private equity experience meant we were well placed as activity in the UK market in 2021 reached levels not seen since before the global financial crisis.
“We’ve seen exceptional deal values and volumes across sectors including technology and media, which continues to be one of the fastest growing areas of M&A activity for the firm.”
