Dealmakers at Browne Jacobson are bucking the regional trend by completing another record year of mid-market acquisition, debt and leveraged finance deals.
In 2013 the firm’s corporate finance and banking teams completed in excess of 70 transactions with a total value exceeding £700m for the second year in succession.
The team were involved in flagship deals in 2013 across a number of sectors including retail, technology and health having acted for the sellers on the sale of Vets4Pets to Pets at Home, acting for the founder and management of Joules on the £22m investment by LDC, acting for LDC on its investment to support the MBO of Node 4 Limited and Yorkshire Bank on its funding for the acquisition of Globalwave Communications Limited by TFM Networks.
Amongst the sectors that have seen significant activity over the past year is commercial health where the firm has acted on deals worth £100m alone, including advising on the multi-million pound management buy-out of CuroCare Limited. The team also acted on a number of high profile regional projects including advising NHS commissioners on the procurement and awarding of a five year contract to the Circle Partnership for the provision of services at the Nottingham Independent Treatment Centre.
The team’s overall performance reflects an increasingly active national market despite what appears to be a mixed picture regionally. According to the latest statistics from Experian Corpfin the number of M&A transactions in the Midlands rose by 4% whilst the total value of all M&A deals in the region in 2013 fell by 58% – the first fall since 2009. The number of mid-market deals in the region also fell by 6%, according to Experian Corpfin.
Richard Cox, Corporate Partner at Browne Jacobson, commented
“The team has once again had an impressive year with some standout completions. Whilst the picture across the region has been mixed we have been able to leverage our experience and expertise and achieved a consistent pipeline of deals throughout the year. It should be business as usual in 2014 as we maintain the momentum generated over the last couple of years. Activity across the technology, brands and healthcare sectors will be particularly marked over the next 12 months and we should also see a greater appetite for deals amongst the major private equity players.”