Member Article

Business services and tech shine in strong H1

Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Northern Corporate Finance team has reported a successful H1 in 2023, with continued progress in the mid-market.

Over the first six months of 2023, the Northern team, spanning the North West, Yorkshire and the North East, has successfully advised on over 10 deals, equating to c£100m in value.

Most recently, the team, led by partner Peter Terry, Northern head of Corporate Finance, advised on private equity firm Mercia’s exit from Manchester-based global parking reservation platform ParkVia to CAVU, a subsidiary of Manchester Airports Group.

This was the third tech-based deal within the North West region that Grant Thornton has advised on in the first half, following the sale of two Liverpool businesses Ardent Credit Services and Horsefly.

Meanwhile in Yorkshire, the corporate finance team has recently advised on the cross-border transaction of Schoeller-Bleckmann’s acquisition of well completion specialist Praxis Completion Technology in Dubai.

This builds off the success of last year when Grant Thornton’s northern advisory team completed 48 deals.

Peter Terry said: “Despite the more challenging market conditions, with inflation still high and interest rates rising, there is a resilient market for high quality assets run by ambitious management teams.

“SaaS businesses operating in favourable verticals continue to prove attractive to investors, both domestic and overseas, due to the annuity-like nature of their revenues, their scalability and resilience.”

Jim Whittaker, Director in Yorkshire, added: “The continuing uncertainty in the wider macro environment means ongoing caution and sector selectivity amongst investors. We are seeing deeper market and financial diligence demands as well as, in some cases, more downside protection for buyers being built into deal structuring through earn-outs. However, many corporates with robust balance sheets and access to capital continue to see genuine strategic opportunities, particularly overseas buyers who still regard the UK as good value at a time when there might be less competition for assets.”

Over the last six months, the Northern team has welcomed six new members to the team at Assistant Manager and Manager level, joining their Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool offices. This includes Ammen Arya, Sarah Mackey, James Wheeler, Maria Barnes and Jordan Fenney.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Robson .