Grant Thornton Yorkshire corporate finance team ends year on high
Leading advisory firm Grant Thornton’s Yorkshire corporate finance advisory practice is celebrating a successful 2016 after completing transactions with a cumulative value of £218m.
During the last 12 months, the corporate finance team has been involved in 13 deals, covering both buy and sell-side mandates, with an average value of £17m.
These included six private equity transactions, which accounted for 46% of all activity across the practice, and three international deals.
Richard Goldsack, corporate finance partner at Grant Thornton in Leeds, said the positive performance reflected the strength of the firm’s expanding Yorkshire corporate finance team.
Mr Goldsack said: “The past year has been an exciting time for Grant Thornton’s Yorkshire corporate finance advisory practice and we are extremely optimistic about our growth prospects for the next 12 months as market momentum continues to build.
“Despite some headlines painting an uncertain picture following the result of the EU referendum, we have seen deal activity and pipelines continue to hit healthy levels throughout 2016.
“Merger and acquisition activity is firmly on the agenda of many boards as executives focus on driving expansion and growth within a favourable environment of optimism around buying and an accessible funding market, with banks keen to lend and a wealth of private equity available.”
Notable deals completed by the Yorkshire corporate finance team on behalf of its clients in 2016 included the management buy-out of PAW Structures, the acquisition of Giffen Holdings by Renew and the acquisition of Bloom Media (UK) Limited by Jaywing plc, the Yorkshire based agency specialising in the application of data science.
Almost a third of transactions involved recruitment businesses, while three were in the industrials sector, two each in healthcare and technology, media and telecommunications and one in consumer.
Andy Wood, Regional Practice Leader for Grant Thornton in Yorkshire and North East, added: “Our Yorkshire corporate finance advisory team has enjoyed a really positive performance in 2016 and we are proud of their achievements.
“We are building a truly stellar team in the corporate finance space and our wealth of experience and unrivalled knowledge of the business landscape is proving instrumental in setting us apart from the competition and positioning us as the go-to firm for growth for dynamic organisations.
“As Grant Thornton’s inquiry into building a vibrant economy continues with our Leeds Live Lab at the Royal Armouries Museum on January 31, we are confident that 2017 will prove to be another positive year across our Yorkshire and North East operations.”
The team has made a series of senior level additions in 2016 with finance transformation director Simon Davidson, corporate finance director Jim Whittaker, partners Martin Barron, Rachel Engwell and Dan Rosinke, and associate director Will Brennand all joining in 2016.
