£194m worth of deals for advisory business

ADVISORY group Dow Schofield Watts is celebrating acting on 22 deals worth £194m in the first half of 2016.

This was a 55% increase on the value of deals done last year, and the firm said the growth reflected the increase in business confidence before the Brexit vote.

In the region, Dow Schofield was involved in the sale of Hull-based Colt Industrial Services to Wetherby waste management business Augean plc; the acquisition of SAS Direct & Partitioning by FTSE250 distribution firm SIG Plc and the acquisition of a 75% stake in Goole-based Simon Gibson Transport by the European logistics provider Groupe Charles Andre.

The firm advised on LDC’s investment in Hull-based Giacom World Networks, the cloud IT and communications provider, and Mobeus Equity Partners’ investment in Doncaster-based Redline Assured Security. It also advised on the management buy-outs of Selectequip, the Lichfield-based PPE, maintenance and safety products supplier and its Wakefield-based sister company Coolsign; Hull-based janitorial distribution business CPD; and Yorkshire Repak, the secondary inspection and contract packers headquartered in Barnsley.

Roger Esler, director of Dow Schofield Watts’ corporate finance team in Yorkshire, said: “Confidence has been improving progressively with businesses being able to raise finance for strategic transactions and values at pre-recession levels. Brexit undoubtedly has created some uncertainty which we hope will dissipate as the political landscape stabilises and a clear strategy emerges that is positively received by our trading partners.”