Scotland punches well above its weight academically, with world-leading research in areas of commercial potential like life sciences and technology.

It seems like there’s a university spin-out funding story on an almost weekly basis at the moment, but this is perhaps papering-over some growing investment gaps.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and deeper dives into policy issues (like this one). We also bring you insights from The Secret Investor, and from leaders of VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

The British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker revealed in July that Scotland surpassed London in the number of spin-out deals completed – 45 versus 28 – with the University of Edinburgh emerging as Scotland’s most active institution, completing 16 deals in 2025.

However, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s latest report into the topic found Scottish spin-out deals fell by a third from 2024 to 2025 and investment value more than halved during the year.

Andrew Noble, chief operating officer at PXN Group, thinks that Scotland doesn’t have a research or talent problem, but not enough specialist capital needed to turn it into successful companies.

“Our university base across the nine institutions makes up about 10% of the total UK university base, and Scots achieve about 10% of patents granted and 12% of grants won,” he explained. “We also get about 15% of deeptech research income - twice that of the rest of the UK - so should be capitalising on that position of strength, but just don’t have the investment infrastructure.”

PXN has backed 35 spin-outs across 18 UK universities and Noble says it is always trying to find opportunities outwith the so-called golden triangle - of London, Oxford and Cambridge - adding “it would be nice to see investment managers based outside of there with a similar outlook”.

He concedes that many investors are put off by the long return horizons and risky propositions of life sciences and healthtech companies, stating: “It can take longer to find scale, but they often have defensive moats, unique intellectual property (IP), and, as some of these technologies are aimed at solving key future challenges, they can become highly valuable assets.”

Noble’s other argument is further down the pipeline, as spin-outs scale and become attractive propositions for foreign buyers.

“I think sovereign capability building is becoming ever more important - the UK Government has made moves to mobilise capital around modern industrial sectors and national development funds are pursuing a more joined-up approach to helping companies scale here without selling too early,” he stated.

Indeed, the Scottish National Investment Bank’s recent 2026/27 Business Plan detailed plans “to design a fund to support innovative businesses emerging from Scottish universities in the coming year”, building upon the £100m it has already invested in the sector.

Read more

We’re always curious when a public company doesn’t tell investors how much it paid for an acquisition. Just a hunch, but when they don’t, it’s probably not very much.

Plenty of good deals from right around the team this week.

But first, a reminder: this is free to all who have signed up. Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.

Affinity Workforce Solutions is going back to school - but this time it’s taking the training with it.

The education workforce specialist has acquired Training Toolz, marking its first move beyond recruitment and adding brands CandidateGo and Training Schoolz to its portfolio.

Training Schoolz has been renamed Affinity Elevate, while a new Affinity Elevate 360 platform will help Multi-Academy Trusts manage training and compliance across their schools.

CandidateGo will continue serving education recruitment agencies with online training and compliance tools.

Esme Bianchi-Barry, CEO of Affinity Workforce Solutions said: “This acquisition is a natural next step for us. We’ve spent years helping schools and MATs find the right people, and now we can help them keep those people trained, compliant and supported once they’re in post. It’s about being a genuine partner to education, not just a recruitment agency.”

With recruitment already in the bag, Affinity is clearly keen to make training another part of the lesson plan.

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It has taken some tough, back and forth offers and counter-offers - and probably plenty of intense behind-the-scenes “full and frank” discussions - but property group Harworth today confirmed it had accepted Peel’s latest increased bid for the group. The Manchester-based Peel Group successfully completed its takeover of Rotherham-headquartered land regeneration specialist, Harworth Group, for £631.7m after the target company board dropped its previous opposition and unanimously recommended the offer.

Peel had increased its cash offer to 187p per share, making an 8.4 per cent increase from its previous 177.5p bid. The takeover battle began during the long summer heatwave, when on 6 August Peel launched an initial unsolicited, cash takeover bid at 172.5p per share - valuing Harworth at £583m. The Harworth board immediately and unequivocally rejected this, claiming it “opportunistically” undervalued the group’s long-term growth and its pivot toward industrial and logistics sites.

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There’s no armouring around it: Coventry-based NP Aerospace is going stateside.

The global armour manufacturer and vehicle integrator has secured more than £30m in funding from NatWest, backed by UK Export Finance, to acquire US-based armour maker Iten Defense.

The deal includes a £19m trade loan, a £7.5m term loan and additional working capital – giving NP Aerospace plenty of financial firepower for its next stage of growth.

Founded in Coventry a century ago, the business is now using its home-grown expertise to make a major push into the US market, with Ohio-based Iten providing a strategic foothold across the pond.

Under chief executive James Kempston, turnover is forecast to rise from around £135m in 2026 to £160m across its UK and North American operations in 2027.

Kempston said: “Completing this acquisition is a significant milestone for NP Aerospace as we expand our global enterprise. It strengthens our position in a key international market and enhances our ability to deliver advanced protection and engineering solutions to defence and law enforcement customers around the world. We’ve built a strong business from our Coventry base, and this investment supports our ambition to continue innovating, expanding our capabilities and creating long-term opportunities from the West Midlands.”

The deal could also see NP Aerospace expand its product and manufacturing capabilities across land, maritime and aerospace markets.

So, after 100 years in the business, it seems NP Aerospace is still showing it has plenty of armour-plated ambition.

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AO has completed the acquisition of Jessops, the specialist photography retailer, from entrepreneur Peter Jones using existing cash resources, but isn’t saying how much it paid.

That’s probably to spare the blushes of Dragon Jones, as Jessops was loss making. In its last published accounts to the end of September 2025 Jessops Group made a loss of £756k on turnover of £19.8m.

Jessops brings expertise in cameras and optical technology, while its recommerce business Camera Jungle complements AO’s existing Music Magpie operations.

In August John Roberts told TheBusinessDesk.com, in an exclusive interview, that the longer term strategy was to expanded into solar panels and home robots, but the purchase of Jessops seems to make sense on top of the £10m purchase of Music Magpie in late 2024.

However, Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at Manchester-based investment platform, AJ Bell, said investors might question the deal. “Once a popular name on the high street, the photography expert has struggled as people are now able to take much better quality pictures on their mobile phones - thereby dampening demand for standalone cameras.”

He added: “The rise of social media has improved the company’s prospects. It has driven demand for vlogging devices and compact cameras are coming back into fashion, both of which suggest a new lease of life for Jessops.

“AO is no stranger to buying companies that are seemingly on their knees. It bought tech trade-in group Music Magpie which plays to its existing strengths in tech refurbishment.

“The key is proving to the market that these acquisitions aren’t wasted money.”

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Yesterday, German logistics group DACHSER announced it is buying its Scottish partner Drummond Distribution.

The companies have been working together since 2008. West Lothian-based Drummond generated £20m of revenue last year and has 175 staff in five locations across the central belt.

The existing management team, led by Damon Burns, will report to Mark Rollinson, managing director of DACHSER UK and Ireland.

Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire-based Ashtead Technology has received an “unsolicited and non-binding” proposal from Ember Infrastructure Management.

This follows three previous bids from the New York-headquartered private equity firm; the first two of which were “unequivocally rejected” by the board.

The latest proposal is at a price of 615 pence per Ashtead share, valuing the business at just shy of half a billion pounds. The board is “considering this with its advisers and is providing Ember with preliminary due diligence information”.

The deadline for a firm bid is 21 October.

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We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches with the Yorkshire winners lunch on the 21st of October 2026 at Crowded House in Leeds.

Leeds tickets

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Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.

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There is nothing quite like a private equity-backed technology business with an acquisition habit.

For Birmingham-based TXP, the shopping list is already taking shape.

Just over a year after being created through the merger of IT resourcing firm Concept and digital services business Jumar, the business has grown its workforce, bought an AWS specialist, expanded its technology offering, opened new offices and landed a £1.5m contract with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

And it is not finished yet.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and deeper dives into policy issues (like this one). We also bring you insights from The Secret Investor, and from leaders of VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

On the face of it TXP is pursuing a classic buy-and-build strategy - but with a slightly more technical shopping list.

The aim is not simply to collect businesses and add their headcounts to the spreadsheet. Instead, backed by private equity firm Aliter Capital, TXP is looking for companies that bring capabilities it can bolt into the wider group, particularly across cloud, data and AI, legacy modernisation and software development.

Chief executive John Antunes is now actively looking for another target in the data and AI space.

“We’re now actively seeking a data and AI business to acquire and bring into the group. Essentially, partly to cope with demand because we’ve got a high demand for that, but also to help us scale out that capability.”

That puts TXP firmly in the world of private equity-backed consolidation, where the theory is relatively simple: buy complementary businesses, combine their capabilities, cross-sell into their customer bases and keep the growth engine running.

The reality, of course, involves rather more spreadsheets, integration meetings and cups of coffee.

Read more

As Westminster’s musical chairs continue, UK Private Capital boss and former Lib Dem minister Michael Moore is quietly working the airless meeting rooms at party conferences and in the City to make sure private equity is seen not as an extractive bogeyman, but as a critical engine of regional growth.

At his organisation’s London summit, he set out how he’s trying to shift perceptions in Whitehall, the Bank of England and the universities that can prosper as a recipient of his members’ money.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and deeper dives into policy issues (like this one). We also bring you insights from The Secret Investor, and from leaders of VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

Spare a thought for the chief executive of UK Private Capital, Michael Moore, who has been spending the month of September and then the early part of October, attending political party conferences, lobbying on behalf of the private equity and investment sector.

The former LibDem Treasury minister from the Coalition government of 2010 to 2015 may have been back with his tribe in Brighton for their conference this week, but he’s also had to keep up relations with Nigel Farage’s right wing organisation Reform UK Ltd, his old coalition muckers The Tories, then indisputably the most important gig of all, Andy Burnham’s new model Labour Party conference in Liverpool, with a completely new team to build relations with. Notably he’s been working hard on wooing the ministerial team of John Healey, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Rainmakers caught up with him at UK Private Capital’s summit in the City of London, where he was in bullish mood after leading City minister Lucy Rigby to the stage and hearing some encouraging words.

Moore says the sweetest words he’s heard are ‘We want to be partners with you’. He’s spent the last couple of years trying to get policymakers to understand what private capital is actually doing in the real economy – particularly outside the M25.

“We have spent a lot of time making sure that what we do around the country is better understood by our stakeholders, and the key thing, as I was talking about on stage earlier, is that the investment that we drive across the UK is leading to lots of jobs and lots of economic growth. To have the City minister play back to us that she wants to be partners with you is very very positive.”

That phrase – “we want to be partners with you” – clearly landed. It’s validation, he suggests, that the story the private capital in all its forms is being heard in Whitehall.

A big part of that story is about shifting economic power and perspective away from SW1.

“I was chatting to her about Number 10 North and how important that is, and just reinforcing the point that I think I see that as being another hub of economic decision making. But it’s like the BBC being in Salford. It’s about getting a different perspective on policy making for the economy and growth that happens to be based in Manchester, but will take a rest of the UK perspective.”

As a Scot who lives south of Edinburgh and commutes to London, he says he “embraces that wholeheartedly”.

He invested time in getting to know Andy Burnham back when he was an MP, but also when the PM was Mayor of Greater Manchester. It helps too that his director of public affairs, Karim Palant is also a supporter of Everton FC, indeed, when the two met at our Rainmakers Summit in Manchester in 2025 as much of the talk was about David Moyes as it was about the Mansion House Compact.

He’s grateful for the efforts Rainmakers has made to get indigenous regional private capital investment partnerships - GPs in industry parlance - like Palatine, NorthEdge and Endless to share a stage with our Mayors, and they have built on those opportunities.

“We had two roundtables with the then mayor there in Manchester, one in his office in Manchester, and one down here. I was really pleased about that because that gives the chance to showcase those around that table. Because again, sometimes what people don’t realise is that there’s infrastructure and real estate, private investment backing businesses coming out of Manchester Met or University of Manchester directly, all these things, they need the right kind of capital to grow, and I think there’s more to do. There’s a great story to tell about what’s going on in Greater Manchester, and on the other side of the Pennines in Leeds. Dare I say those bits do better than, say, Scotland, which I find as a Scot, I find competitively unfortunate. But you know, that’s a good challenge.”

Read more

Is the endorsement of Steven Bartlett really something to cry over? Time will tell whether the Dragon’s £50,000 investment in Birmingham drinks brand Revibed will boost its growth plans, after Steven Bartlett offered a £50,000 investment in return for a 15% stake.

Plenty more to get you excited in this weekly round up.

Today is also the entry deadline for TheBusinessDesk.com’s Growth Awards 2027.

The Growth Awards recognise the people, teams and businesses that have made meaningful progress. Whatever your journey, we want to hear what made the difference.

The awards are free, simple and quick to enter.

Our judging panel will select the shortlist, before choosing five categories for site visits and then selecting our Growth Awards winners.

At the end we’ll tell you a bit more about how to enter the awards, or visit: Growth Awards 2027.

But first, a reminder: this is free to all who have signed up. Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.

Birmingham drinks brand Revibed has given its growth plans a boost after securing a £50,000 investment offer from Steven Bartlett in return for a 15% stake.

Father-and-son founders Ivor and Eugene Patterson pitched the superfood drinks business on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, on the episode which aired on 10 September.

The pitch came with plenty of emotion, as Eugene revealed that his father had suffered a heart attack before filming, while the day of the pitch also marked the memorial of his late uncle.

Revibed was started from the family kitchen in 2020, drawing on their Caribbean heritage with ingredients including hibiscus, ginger and lime.

Its range now spans canned drinks and superfood powders, with sparkling water flavours including Apple & Moringa, Raspberry & Acai, Hibiscus & Peach and Passionfruit & Ginger.

Eugene Patterson, founder of Revibed, said: “Appearing on Dragons’ Den was an extremely exciting opportunity, and to have secured the backing of Steven Bartlett made it even better.

“Revibed is rooted in family values, and we launched in 2020 with the aim of sharing a positive message while also ensuring the products were healthy for both mind and body, vegan-friendly and low in sugar. Today, we not only offer a range of canned drinks, but superfood powders too.”

“We’re tremendously grateful for Steven’s offer of investment, and we have exciting plans in place to bring Revibed to even more consumers across the UK. We can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

With another retail listing in the pipeline, the family business looks set to keep its growth bubbling.

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A new acquisition vehicle launched to pursue a buy-out strategy in specialist materials is targeting revenues of more than £300m within three years.

Technical Materials Group (TMG) has been formed by fast-growing Bridgwater, Somerset-based fabric tech firm Nonwovenn and Altrincham-based CorpAcq following its acquisition of Nonwovenn last December.

It will focus on acquiring businesses in the UK, Europe and North America manufacturing IP-rich products and specialist materials, including highly engineered textiles, films, composites, ceramics and laminated products.

Targeted businesses are likely to operate in sectors spanning military, aerospace, medical, water industry, data centres and other regulated markets.

Nonwovenn, which manufactures and supplies bespoke technical fabrics for niche markets such as protective clothing used by chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear workers, has increased its annual turnover from £19m in 2016 to £46m last year and has continued its strong growth this year under CorpAcq’s ownership.

The business has had 19 consecutive years of profit and is a significant exporter of goods.

CorpAcq was founded in 2006 by entrepreneur and Sale Sharks rugby club owner Simon Orange and was acquired by private equity firm TDR Capital in 2024. CorpAcq’s portfolio includes more than 50 companies with combined revenues of over £900m.

Keith Pickering, formerly of Catalyst Corporate Finance, has been appointed head of acquisitions.

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A £12m private equity investment into an importer and distributor of automotive, electrical and industrial consumable products is set to fuel accelerated growth by supporting a Management Buy Out. Regional private equity and real assets investment manager, Foresight Group, has stumped up the cash for Leeds-based Automotive & Industrial Consumables (AIC).

AIC serves the automotive aftermarket, electrical installation, construction and general industrial sectors. It supplies at least 6,100 products to more than 5,500 customers across the UK, Europe and the USA. This represents the fifth investment in the last 12 months for Foresight across Yorkshire and the North East. And it isn’t done yet, stressing it will continue to offer its financial firepower to ambitious firms across a diverse range of sectors.

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Edinburgh-based Quorum Cyber is set to acquire Zurich-headquartered Ontinue.

The proposed transaction would unite two Microsoft-focused companies with complementary strengths in managed detection and response, proactive risk reduction, incident response and security operations.

Founded in Edinburgh during 2016, Quorum’s customer base is mostly based in the UK and North America, with the deal helping expand its reach into central Europe.

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Accountancy firm Streets is adding three more names to its books after acquiring practices in Northern Ireland, the North East and Lancashire.

Hunter Sinton, HJ Accountants and John Potter & Harrison bring more than 250 years of combined history to the Lincolnshire-headquartered group as it continues its expansion.

The deals will see all three firms keep their existing offices and teams, while clients gain access to Streets’ wider accountancy and advisory services.

Streets Chairman and CEO Paul Tutin said: “For the teams involved, the acquisitions are not simply about growth. They are about protecting the character, culture and personal service that have made each practice part of its local community.”

Blackpool-based John Potter & Harrison, founded in 1892, brings a 10-strong team and more than 130 years of experience to the group. HJ Accountants has served North Tyneside since 1988, while Banbridge practice Hunter Sinton dates back to 1946 and has a strong agricultural client base.

The expansion is being funded independently, with Streets saying it has grown without private equity investment or debt.

Tutin added: “These practices have very different histories, but they share the same qualities: strong local roots, dedicated teams and relationships built over many years. Those are not things we want to replace. They are the foundations we want to protect and help flourish.”

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Manchester online retail group Boohoo, which trades as Debenhams Group has completed the sale of its Nasty Gal brand, including the global intellectual property rights.

White Space Group New York, operating as WSG Brands, has completed the acquisition for a total cash consideration of $16m (£11.86m).

Nasty Gal generated gross merchandise value of £12m in financial year 2026 and adjusted EBITDA of £0.4m.

Boohoo said the brand is non-core and not material to the group.

It added that the transaction aligns with its strategy of transitioning to a marketplace-led business model that is capital-lite, and further strengthens the balance sheet following the £90m sale of the group’s Sheffield Distribution Centre, announced on September 10, 2026.

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The Growth Awards recognise the people, teams and businesses that have made meaningful progress. Whatever your journey, we want to hear what made the difference.

The awards are free, simple and quick to enter. The deadline is Friday 18 September.

Our judging panel will select the shortlist, choose five categories for site visits, and then select our Growth Awards winners.

To enter the awards visit: Growth Awards 2027.

The awards will work across all our regions, and span three strands – Company, Team and Individual – with categories recognising everything from finance, technology, people and board excellence.

::

We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches starting with the Birmingham lunch on the 23rd of September 2026 at Regina’s in Birmingham.

Tickets here

::

Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.

The insights and commentary we share with you are rooted in the trust we have built in the business community.

We’re also on LinkedIn - please join our Rainmakers community group for updates and offers and opportunities to comment.

If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

Rainmakers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The Secret Investor is back, and he’s not only been playing padel, but has also been letting slip a few inside secrets on what has been keeping investors awake at night.

Hope you enjoy this. Rainmakers subscribers get (at least) two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates like this one from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, and River Capital, Foresight, Mercia, Puma and LDC.

Well… where do I start? Last time out I promised to steer clear of the political minefield, and I stand by that as a general rule. But when the former Mayor of Greater Manchester is now sitting in Number 10, I think even a deals column is allowed to make an exception!

For those who have been hiding under a rock (or on a sun lounger) all summer, Andy Burnham won the Makerfield by-election in June, was the only name on the ballot for the Labour leadership, and now feels like he’s had a month or two to get his feet under the desk at Number 10 (or is that Number 10 of the North?). Back home, Bev Craig has taken over as Mayor, and one of her first moves was a £20m fund for our high streets.

Having one of our own at the top table is a genuinely unusual position for the North to be in, and there’s definitely a decent number of deal doers who think that “Andy gets it”.

Whether “getting it” turns into anything we can actually bank is another matter, and he has more than his fair share of cynics and critics at this point!

The date everyone in my world has circled is 28 October. Income tax, NI and VAT are off the table, which means everyone is looking nervously at capital gains. Talk of lining CGT up with income tax rates, or taking another swipe at Business Asset Disposal Relief, is doing exactly what you’d expect. I’m aware of double-digit deal numbers being pushed hard to complete before Budget day. There’s nothing like the threat of a tax hike to focus a seller’s mind! And believe me, I have my fair share of deal scars from the Covid / 2020 / 2021 budgets when similar rumours were flying around. Add in inflation creeping back up and a Bank of England that looks ever more hawkish than expected with each meeting and you can see why nobody is expecting cheap money to rescue valuations in the deal community any time soon.

On a brighter note, there has been some good news for those of us who rely on public money to plug the gap in the regional funding market. The British Business Bank has announced a new £150m Northern scale-up fund, writing £5m–£15m cheques alongside NPIF II. That's precisely the gap I’ve moaned about in this column before, where businesses outgrow the regional funds but are still too small for the London crowd. And PXN’s NPIF II equity fund has been topped up by £80m, taking it from £100m to £180m. That’s a fair old vote of confidence in the team. It’s great to see the PXN team getting some success with a couple of recent exits, but a couple of the more eagle-eyed operators in the VC community have asked me recently if I have any inside knowledge of how the track record / carrying values they presented at the time of winning the first £100m has panned out…

Speaking of PXN, the deal that made me smile most this month was their £3m follow-on into The Padel Club. It started in Wilmslow, and was the first NPIF II investment PXN made.

I’ll admit I was a padel sceptic not so long ago, but I’ve played more over the last year and it really is a great game. I was having a debate recently with a few other members of the CF / PE community, around who the best player is in the Northern deal community. Jim Darlington, the main man at Henbury, got my vote – he’s about as talented and sensible on a padel court as he is when working on deals.

The numbers in the sport of padel suggest I’m not alone with this newfound enthusiasm, with the number of regular participants more than doubling last year, and there’s a real question now about who consolidates this space first. I assume that is the investment thesis behind the latest NPIF investment; however, I do think we have now reached the point where you will start to see success and failures emerging on a site-by-site basis, so personally I would tread relatively cautiously around an aggressive land grab.

Elsewhere in venture, Manchester cyber business Cytix closed a $7m Series A led by Northern Gritstone, with PXN alongside. And the Street Group result was a cracker, with a 4.4x return for NPIF II as Hg came in at a valuation north of £200m. Although that business has clearly grown into the PE world, it's a great reminder that northern tech doesn’t have to relocate to Shoreditch to get a proper valuation!

On the PE side, NorthEdge have had a very tidy few weeks. They sold Stockport-based Distology to Foresight (the third exit from their SME fund, which is averaging 4.3x), then followed up a week later with the sale of Correla at 4.7x, the first realisation from Fund III. Two exits announced in a fortnight, in this market, deserves a nod.

On the public markets, THG posted decent half-year numbers (EBITDA roughly doubled) but still saw the shares slide, something which I’ve seen become a real feature of listed stocks since Covid. I put it down to investor confidence, something which remains extremely fragile. Simplistic investor mentality is “good news, must be good time to sell”. All this while Mike Ashley’s Frasers has crept above 11% on the THG register… Across town, Debenhams Group (the artist formerly known as boohoo) has offloaded Nasty Gal for $16m as the aggressive tidy-up continues.

As for IPOs, it remains very quiet. There are no northern listings to speak of, and The Beauty Tech Group’s interims today were very well received, with the share price shooting up to over £4 by lunchtime. Quite rightly, it was probably the most anticipated public markets moment for the North. After July’s upgrade, they have kept the momentum going. I think the market needs a few stories like this one to stem the outflows, which is why their continued success was so well received, I feel.

On an even more positive note though, it was nice to see the market accommodating a management team taking a substantial sum of cash off the table. Well played to the exec team of Applied Nutrition for placing an almost 3% stake into the market and not destroying shareholder confidence – hopefully a sign of things to come!

Until next time!

::

The Growth Awards recognise the people, teams and businesses that have made meaningful progress. Whatever your journey, we want to hear what made the difference.

The awards are free, simple and quick to enter. The deadline is Friday 18 September.

Our judging panel will select the shortlist, choose five categories for site visits, and then select our Growth Awards winners.

To enter the awards visit: Growth Awards 2027.

The awards will work across all our regions, and span three strands – Company, Team and Individual – with categories recognising everything from finance, technology, people and board excellence.

::

We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches starting with the Birmingham lunch on the 23rd of September 2026 at Regina’s in Birmingham.

::

::

Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.

The insights and commentary we share with you are rooted in the trust we have built in the business community.

We’re also on LinkedIn - please join our Rainmakers community group for updates and offers and opportunities to comment.

If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

Rainmakers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The independent travel sector is proving a golden ticket for private equity as millennials and baby boomers alike shun traditional package holidays for new adventures in offbeat destinations, as Robert Buckland reports.

While we’ve got you, we’re involved in a fantastic initiative to back growth businesses.

This Friday is the deadline for entries to TheBusinessDesk.com’s Growth Awards 2027.

At the end we’ll tell you a bit more about how to enter the awards, or visit: Growth Awards 2027.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and deeper dives into sectors (like this one). We also bring you insights from The Secret Investor, and from leaders of VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

Long gone are the days when choosing a holiday meant browsing a glossy brochure full of similar-looking hotels on the Costas before taking your deposit to the local high street travel agent for a fortnight in the sun.

Now we’re all after ‘experiential’ breaks and ‘off-radar’ trips that combine culture and history with adventure.

Environmental and social concerns are also driving a demand for more sustainable forms of tourism, including using smaller, local hotels instead of multinational operators.

According to market research group Mintel, there’s a growing importance of “group compatibility and themed itineraries, with travellers attracted to tours built around shared identity and special interests, such as fitness or pop culture, rather than traditional sightseeing alone.”

It also points to the growing influence of wellbeing and what it calls “active, achievement-led experiences”.

As a result, many of the generic, mass-market holiday operators have packed their bags to be replaced by those offering bespoke packages based on individual tastes.

Once viewed as niche players, these firms are becoming the go-to sites for well-heeled travellers willing to pay more for bespoke holidays.

Much of their success is based on combining their ability to access powerful booking software for flights and hotels with specialist knowledge and local connections.

Not surprisingly, PE firms have been active in the sector, according to PitchBook providing a record total of £7.7bn last year for 31 deals - nearly double the previous high in the post-Covid boom year of 2022.

Piper has been particularly active, having taken part in four investment rounds in the sector since 2020.

The first of these, an £8m investment in high-end, curated villa rental company, The Thinking Traveller, set the direction of travel for the market.

At the time investment director Dan Stern, who has led on all four deals, said: “Although the travel industry has been badly hit by COVID, our consumer insight work shows that people are more eager than ever to see new countries and experience new cultures.”

Since then, Piper has put £8m into Rabbie’s, an Edinburgh-based small-group guided tours firm, backed Martin Randall Travel, a leading specialist in cultural tours with more than 200 events in 50 different countries, and co-founded an MBO at Bristol-based Asian tour specialist Inside Travel.

Describing itself as “the world’s leading Asia-focused cultural adventure” brand, Inside Travel’s buyout was also backed by Cool Japan Fund, Japan’s sovereign wealth fund focused on investing in businesses that promote Japanese culture around the world.

The business was founded in 2000 by Simon King and Alastair Donnelly, who, having spent three years living in Japan and experiencing its food, iconic sights, traditions and pop culture, returned to the UK with a deep passion for the country.

Realising that tour operator offerings didn’t fully capture everyday Japanese culture, they launched what was then called Inside Japan to share a more authentic experience with others.

It has since created trips for clients to South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Borneo, among others, achieving sales of £65m-plus by 2024 and growing by 33% a year.

Global tailor-made holidays brand and managed marketplace TravelLocal, also based in Bristol, raised £8.3m in a series B investment round from Puma, Active Partners and Gresham House Ventures and existing investors, with Channel 4 Ventures also increasing its media-for-equity investment.

TravelLocal’s business model is based on revolutionising tailor-made holidays by connecting its customers directly with handpicked, trusted local travel experts based in their destination – people know their country better than anyone.

Its platform enables bookings with more than 500 individual local travel experts around the world, who create personalised itineraries directly with the holidaymaker.

At the time of the investment three years ago, TravelLocal had an annual growth rate of 100%, having merged two years earlier with Berlin-based Trip.me.

Other PE deals in the sector have included BGF’s 2024 acquisition of a minority stake in Vosaio Travel, which designs bespoke group tours and travel programmes primarily for local market tour operators in 25 countries, and – in the same year - ECI Partners’ takeover of TAG, known for providing complex and bespoke travel itineraries for high-end corporate clients and entertainment industry bigwigs.

The Loveholidays story, as told by CEO Donat Retif and Daniel Smith of Livingbridge at the UK Private Capital Summit, underlines why travel remains a compelling bet for growth investors – provided you back the right platform and stay the course when the cycle turns.

For Livingbridge, the attraction started with the fundamentals: a huge, established UK package holiday market – around £15bn at entry – undergoing rapid online migration. Loveholidays was a pure-play on that shift, “tech-first from birth”, already proving the model by hitting £10m profit within four years. The business had strong unit economics, a clear digital proposition, and sat in a category where consumer demand was deep, frequent and price-sensitive – ideal conditions for a data-driven, high-volume platform.

Scalability is where the model really bites. When Retif arrived in late 2019, Loveholidays was still a relatively small, UK-focused player, concentrated on short-haul beach. Post-Covid, it has tripled both the size of the business and its market share in a market that itself has expanded from 26m to 39m package holiday customers. It now competes credibly with Tui, Jet2, Booking and easyJet, and has grown into the third-largest operator in its competitive set.

The levers are classic digital scale: a rebuilt platform, a strengthened leadership team drawn from bigger B2B SaaS and other industries, and expansion across products (short-haul, long-haul, city breaks) and markets (now eight countries, heading to ten and beyond). Crucially, this is software-led internationalisation: entering a new country is largely a matter of translating the website and localising the offer. Retif notes that what once cost £300,000 and took three months now costs “about £5” and takes minutes thanks to AI – a neat illustration of how technology compounds competitive advantage in online travel.

The pandemic was the real test of the investment thesis – and of the partnership. Travel demand collapsed, it became illegal to travel, and Loveholidays had to process £360m of flight refunds while running two restructurings and a full platform rebuild. Where many peers cut back hard, Livingbridge backed management to double down on technology rather than retreat. Founder Al Francis still stepped back as CEO in May 2020 as planned, handing full operational control to Retif at the height of the crisis.

That alignment – investors providing capital, regulatory support and air cover, management focusing on execution – meant Loveholidays emerged from Covid leaner, more scalable and significantly larger. For Livingbridge, the bet that a tech-first, AI-enabled platform could take share in a structurally growing sector has clearly paid off.

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The Growth Awards recognise the people, teams and businesses that have made meaningful progress. Whatever your journey, we want to hear what made the difference.

The awards are free, simple and quick to enter. The deadline is Friday 18 September.

Our judging panel will select the shortlist, choose five categories for site visits, and then select our Growth Awards winners.

To enter the awards visit: Growth Awards 2027.

The awards will work across all our regions, and span three strands – Company, Team and Individual – with categories recognising everything from finance, technology, people and board excellence.

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We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches starting with the Birmingham lunch on the 23rd of September 2026 at Regina’s in Birmingham.

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Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.

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If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

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Here’s a round-up of some eye-catching deals in the last week, including the return of the prolific acquirer RSK, a Scottish financial acquisition, and a first bolt-on deal since Foresight invested in RS Industrial Services.

But first, a reminder: this is free to all who have signed up; however, Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.

Engineering group Goodwin has struck a £1.1bn deal to sell a major chunk of its Mechanical Engineering division to US investment giant Cerberus Capital Management.

The Stoke-on-Trent-based business is selling Goodwin Steel Castings, Goodwin International, Noreva, Easat Group and its Pumps Division in one of Staffordshire’s biggest deals in recent years.

The transaction is expected to complete in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval and a bit of corporate housekeeping to move the businesses into a new legal entity.

Goodwin plans to return a significant slice of the proceeds to shareholders, while its Refractory Engineering and Technological divisions will remain in the group.

The sale comes hot on the heels of a record year, with Goodwin reporting a £77.5m trading profit for the year to April - up 118%.

Timothy Goodwin, chairman of Goodwin PLC, said: “Today’s announcement represents a significant milestone in the history of Goodwin as we reposition our business and deliver significant value for our shareholders. The Board would like to express its gratitude to all employees across GSC, GI, Noreva, Easat and Pumps for their dedication, professionalism and contribution over many years.”

Cerberus global head of private equity Michael Sanford said: “Cerberus has a clearly defined and established strategy to invest behind leading defence and industrial businesses that benefit the needs and goals of Western-allied nations. This investment epitomises these priorities, and Cerberus is committed, as it has been for the past 20 years, to investing in the UK.”

So, after months of talks, Goodwin has finally sealed the deal, and this one is certainly no small casting.

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RSK Group is adding some extra mileage to its highways operation after acquiring Northamptonshire contractor Mason Street Furniture (MSF).

The deal brings 175 staff into RSK and adds expertise in street lighting, traffic signals, highway technology, fibre networks, EV infrastructure and electrical connections.

MSF, which has offices in Northamptonshire and County Durham, will continue to be led by founder and managing director Shaun Stacey.

The acquisition also builds on MSF’s existing relationship with Octavius Infrastructure, which joined RSK last year, creating a stronger combined offering for major highways and transport projects.

MSF works directly for National Highways and has delivered schemes for contractors including Balfour Beatty, Costain, GRAHAM and Winvic. Its recent work includes the A1 Birtley to Coal House upgrade, Newcastle’s Tyne Bridge refurbishment and the M25 Junction 28 improvement scheme.

Alan Ryder, chief executive officer at RSK Group, said: “MSF is a highly respected business with an outstanding reputation across the UK’s highways and infrastructure sectors. Its specialist expertise complements existing capabilities across RSK and supports greater collaboration throughout the group.

“The company is well positioned to support future investment in National Highways programmes, highway technology upgrades, decarbonisation initiatives and growing demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.”

Stacey said: “Joining RSK creates exciting opportunities for growth while allowing us to retain the values, leadership and delivery model that have contributed to our success.

“Our clients will continue working with the same trusted teams, while gaining access to a broader range of expertise and complementary services from across the wider group.”

Interpath advised on the deal, with financial terms remaining under wraps.

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Shackleton Advisers is set to acquire Scottish law firm Aberdein Considine’s wealth management business AC Wealth.

The deal significantly expands the London-headquartered group’s presence in Scotland, while adding £800m in assets under management and advice; making for a new firm-wide Scotland total of over £1.3bn. It also brings 40 employees, including 14 regulated financial advisers, to the group.

Following completion, Shackleton will operate in Scotland from offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, while maintaining local representation in Perth and Stirling.

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Sheffield-based ACDC Cranes has gained elevation by being acquired by Foresight Group-backed crane management and lifting specialist, RS Industrial Services. The deal marks the first phase of significant geographic expansion plans for the buyer. ACDC Cranes offers breakdown support, overhead crane repairs and lifting equipment inspections. The acquisition will bring its skilled engineering workforce into the wider RSIS group.

While ACDC’s clients will benefit from RSIS’s crane parts supply chain and group resources, the acquisition provides RSIS with a physical launchpad to introduce its expertise into a new region. And it is the buyer’s first bolt-on acquisition since it secured private equity investment from Foresight.

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Intec Group has completed the sale of its commercial businesses in Cambridge, Manchester and Newcastle to Tela Technology for an undisclosed sum, as the group focuses attention on its education and telecoms operations.

The transaction forms part of Intec’s strategy to simplify the group following a period of acquisition-led expansion. It will enable Intec to build on its established managed services base in education, including new partnerships supporting the Department for Education’s Schools Rebuilding Programme, while continuing to develop its telecoms business.

Based in Birmingham, Tela has more than 35 years’ experience providing business communications and managed IT services to customers across the UK from its 10 regional offices. The acquisition will further strengthen its UK-wide capabilities, with the majority of staff transferring to Tela as part of the transaction.

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Castle Square Corporate Finance has opened a Manchester office after 16 years advising on deals from South and West Yorkshire.

The firm says it has raised an enterprise value of completed transactions in excess of £1bn since its formation in 2009.

Brad Green, partner at Castle Square Corporate Finance, said: “The North West has always been an important market for Castle Square, so establishing a permanent presence here feels like a natural next step for the business.

“There is an outstanding corporate finance community across Manchester and the wider region, and we want to become a meaningful part of that ecosystem, building long-term relationships with business owners, investors, funders, and other professional advisors.”

Castle Square won team of the year at the 2025 Rainmaker Awards in Yorkshire.

We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches starting with the Birmingham lunch on the 23rd of September 2026 at Regina’s in Birmingham.

Tickets here

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This is a special report from the opening sessions of the UK Private Capital Summit down in that there London.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and deeper dives into sectors (like this one). We also bring you insights from The Secret Investor, and from leaders of VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

It took just two minutes into his opening speech at the UK Private Capital Summit for chief executive Michael Moore to push the buttons of the new Burnham government. To a backdrop of the day’s tag line “investing for a better economy” he casually dropped in “growth in every postcode” with the ease of someone stating the obvious.

Moore reminded the room (his paying members) that private capital is no fringe player but a national engine room: “We’ve got two and a half million people across the UK employed in private capital‑backed businesses… 90% of them SMEs, over half of them outside London.”

And he issued a quiet warning to policymakers about competitiveness and capital flight: “We have… over £200 billion pounds of dry powder available to UK investment managers to deploy across Europe… if it isn’t [attractive here], that capital goes elsewhere.”

He then went on to build up to the showbiz early‑morning adrenaline shot, in the shape of Amol Rajan, in his first public on‑stage appearance since presenting the BBC Radio 4 Today programme for the last time on Monday.

Rajan arrived with the energy – and licence – of someone newly freed from BBC impartiality. Declaring it his “Liberation Day”, he told the room: “I do actually have a very strong opinion about private capital, which is that I really like it, and I really want more of it.”

As well he might to his (presumably) paying customers, and to potential backers of his own new media business The Amol Rajan Connection. From there he rattled through a lively 10‑point programme – less after‑dinner speech, more wake‑up call for a room full of allocators:

1. Wake up to a “century of change in a decade”
   Politics and the civil service, he argued, are “hopelessly unequal to the challenges of today”, still wired for the last industrial revolution while AI, geopolitics and technology drive the next one.

2. A hinge moment in history – from Gutenberg to Zuckerberg to GPT
   Drawing on Niall Ferguson, he compared today to the age of the printing press – but with change compressed from “10 decades to 10 days”, and with AI soon doing it in seconds. We are, he said, living through not just “the Great Acceleration” but an era defined by violent jerks in the system.

3. Broken contract between generations
   The old assumption that children will be better off than their parents is gone. Real incomes have been flat for two decades and young people face a toxic trio of pay, property and pensions that leaves them worse off than their parents’ generation.

4. Work no longer guarantees wealth
   The post‑war deal – go to work, build a life – is breaking down. Today “capital begets capital”, and rewards flow to those with assets rather than those who simply work hard, fuelling the anger behind Trump‑era politics.

5. Learning no longer guarantees earning
   The graduate premium is shrinking, even as higher education expands. Rajan warned that AI could do to white‑collar jobs what globalisation did to blue‑collar communities – and asked what story we tell the next generation if “go to university and you’ll be fine” no longer holds.

6. A reinvented, fragile family unit
   Marriage rates for young adults have collapsed, fatherhood has been transformed, and a rising share of teenagers are not living with both parents. The family has changed more in four decades than in four centuries, with big social and economic consequences.

7. A “golden age of stupidity” in the age of super‑intelligence
   While machine intelligence explodes, human literacy and measured IQ are going into reverse. A post‑literate culture, fuelled by screens and snippets, is leaving politics “downstream of ever‑shallower attention spans”.

8. From Bowling Alone to Scrolling Alone
   Civic life is hollowing out. Trade unions, local clubs, religious attendance – all in decline. Technology has taken us from community activities to “scrolling alone”, feeding a relationship recession with serious mental health and political consequences, with a nod towards a big theme of Gordon Brown’s new book, The Future Starts With Us.

9. A looming debt emergency
   UK debt at £3 trillion and a state still addicted to consultations rather than choices. Rajan argued for reframing debt as a moral issue – why should today’s teenagers pay for yesterday’s political cowardice?

10. We’re not doomed – but we need a better politics
    Rejecting the Dad’s Army “we’re doomed” mentality, he called for a new politics that shifts tens of billions from unproductive to productive spending, and for a new compact with technology so that AI and digital tools expand agency rather than erode it.

Rajan’s provocations echoed the earlier fireside chat between Richard Swann and Sarah Adams. Where Rajan painted the macro picture of broken contracts and democratic drift, Swann and Adams had already made the case for private capital as part of the solution.

Swann’s own story – from a Sheffield council estate kid who “fell into the industry” to chairing UK Private Capital and leading Inflexion – was used to illustrate the sector’s social as well as financial impact. He talked about backing founders from seed through to international expansion, about private markets now representing 7% of UK GDP, and about the industry’s role in spreading ownership, creating jobs, and rewiring the mature economy.

Both conversations – the grounded growth narrative from Moore, Swann and Adams and the high‑voltage warning from Rajan – ultimately pointed the same way: if the UK is serious about “growth in every postcode”, a stable regime for private capital, pensions reform, and intelligent use of AI will be central to any credible plan.

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As an industry body, still emerging from its previous identity as the BVCA, the summit attracted the attention of two front line politicians, a slightly subdued Mark Garnier from the Conservative Shadow Treasury team, then Labour’s City Minister, Lucy Rigby. The latter was never going to leak the Budget, but everyone was trying to read into what she was hinting rather than roaring from the stalls at a barnstorming address, which it wasn’t.

Rigby reaffirmed the government’s dedication to the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy launched last year. The focus remains on strengthening the UK’s position as a global financial centre and ensuring financial services support the real economy.

On the Mansion House Accord she said efforts continue to drive pension consolidation and support long-term investment.

She said proposed reforms to the Alternative Investment Fund Management Regulations aim to streamline the regime via the FCA. Additionally, a package of reforms for VC fund managers is being developed to better calibrate rules to their specific activities.

Sitting in the front row Moore seemed happy to soak up the vibes.

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A shuffling of the running order allowed Professor Ian Chapman, one year into his term at UK Research and Investment, who said he wants a sea change in the relationship between the academic projects he funds, and the people in the room who could invest further down the line.

He issued an invitation for industry experts to participate more actively in the ecosystem noting that historical advisory panels have relied too heavily on technical experts rather than commercial ones, and offering better clarity on its portfolio, helping investors with due diligence and connecting them directly to emerging companies.

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We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches starting with the Birmingham lunch on the 23rd of September 2026 at Regina’s in Birmingham.

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Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

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If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

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For an industry whose job is to persuade clients that there is no substitute for creativity, marketing and PR businesses are increasingly reaching a decidedly corporate conclusion about their own growth: as Sam Metcalf discovers, sometimes it is easier to buy than build.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and deeper dives into sectors (like this one). We also bring you insights from The Secret Investor, and from leaders of VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

M&A activity across the agency sector is accelerating, fuelled by private equity, technological disruption and clients demanding an ever-expanding menu of services from fewer suppliers.

Data from Davis+Gilbert suggests completed PR transactions increased 20% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, with deals increasingly involving smaller sellers and private equity. Buyer interest has been particularly strong around influencer marketing, data and analytics, reputation and crisis management and content capabilities.

At the enormous end of the market, the direction of travel could hardly be clearer. Omnicom completed its acquisition of Interpublic Group in November 2025, creating a business with more than $25bn in combined annual revenue.

But the more interesting corporate finance story may be happening several floors below those global holding companies.

Read more

Here’s a round-up of some eye-catching deals in the last week, including merger, but apparently nobody needed an adviser, debt package or 14 weeks in a data room.

But first a reminder, this is free to all who have signed up, however Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.

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NorthEdge has sold Distology, the Stockport-based specialist cybersecurity distributor, to Foresight, boasting a return of 4.3x over its three realisations from its SME Fund.

NorthEdge first invested in Distology in February 2021, backing founder and CEO Hayley Roberts and her management team in their first institutional investment to broaden the vendor portfolio, deepen technical capability and scale the business internationally.

She said: “The last five years with NorthEdge have been brilliant. They believed in us at a pivotal moment, backed our vision and helped us grow across the UK and Europe – all while championing the culture and people that make Distology what it is.”

Over the two years to financial year 2026 it delivered a 48% EBITDA compound annual growth rate; expanded and diversified its vendor portfolio; increased its services capability following the acquisition of Squareball in 2022; and strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of a chief technical officer and a chief commercial officer.

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Corporate finance types, look away now. There’s been a merger, but apparently nobody needed an adviser, debt package or 14 weeks in a data room.

Leicester-based krow Group and Devon-headquartered Bray Leino, both already owned by The MISSION Group, are combining to create a 300-plus strong agency under the Bray Leino name.

So, technically, it’s less M&A and more moving the furniture around at home. But with “synergies”, an enlarged geographical footprint and a new chief growth officer, it certainly knows all the words.

Bray Leino CEO Kate Cox will lead the combined business, while krow CEO John Quarrey becomes chief growth officer at The MISSION Group.

There’s no word on earn-outs, leverage multiples or adjusted EBITDA.

Frankly, we’re not sure it counts.

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The story that dominated corporate finance conversation in the West Midlands this week was Headlam Group’s collapse into administration. The Coleshill-based flooring distributor exhausted its liquidity, triggering covenant breaches, and has suspended its shares from the Main Market. It follows last week’s sale of Headlam’s Netherlands arm and months of boardroom tension after activist investor First Seagull sought to remove three directors. Interpath’s Will Wright, Chris Pole and Ryan Grant are proposed as joint administrators. Watch how creditors respond.

Elsewhere, rural broadband provider Airband was sold out of administration to rival Voneus for a reported sum under £10m, days after entering administration itself. Aberdeen, which had backed Airband since 2020, is expected to write off around £200m on the deal, with HSBC and Lloyds also facing losses. The restructuring community will be watching whether this is the first of several distressed altnet sales this year.

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Gooch & Housego’s £346m takeover by Washington DC-based private equity firm Arlington Capital has cleared its first major regulatory hurdle, with the US antitrust review (HSR) now complete and UK approval expected by year-end.

The slow regulatory process matches the patient approach Arlington showed when they made a series of unsolicited approached to the board of the Somerset photonics specialist, which were rejected before getting agreement in July.

Arlington has raised $14bn to fund its growth efforts, and strategic assets in regulated sectors are key to its ambitions.

Pending the UK’s own national security clearance, the deal should close in Q4 2026. As Christmas decorations begin to appear in shops, it won’t feel like much longer to wait.

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Harley Haddow has acquired Glasgow-based fire engineering consultancy Pillar Fire.

Kevin McKeown will head up the new division at a time when demand for specialist fire engineering expertise is growing following Building Safety Act updates and post-Grenfell regulatory reforms.

Fire engineers will now work alongside Harley Haddow’s structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, geotechnical, building performance and sustainability teams from the earliest project stages.

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Manchester-based law firm, Orwins, has again hit the acquisition trail with its latest purchases being Yorkshire law firm, Milners, and also Roe Lawyers, a boutique criminal, white collar and regulatory law firm based in central London. These two newest arrivals follow the group’s investment into Clarkslegal in Reading and Clarke Mairs in Newcastle in May and July this year.

Milners is a full-service law firm with seven partners and 41 staff headquartered in Leeds and with offices in Harrogate, Malton, Darlington and Pontefract. It provides a range of services including commercial litigation, property, public law, corporate, employment and HR management services, private client and family.

Backed by Aliter Capital, Orwins has now swelled to over 250 staff and combined revenues of £34m. And it isn’t resting on its laurels, as it is currently targeting revenues of more than £50m.

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Finally, the latest football club in receipt of North American investment and grand plans for the future is Northern Premier League side Lancaster City FC, which plays at the magnificently named ground Giant Axe.

Entrepreneur Alex Shteriev is backing the 115-year-old club in a phased 24-month transaction, in order to introduce capital into the club in step with delivery rather than all at once, giving shareholders and supporters visibility of progress at every stage, thus avoiding the abrupt change of control that has “destabilised so many clubs at this level of English football.”

In the investor’s first foray in professional sport, the insistence on some base principles is telling about the absolute bin fire that has marked other deals at this level.

“Lancaster City will remain a Lancaster club, at Giant Axe, under the same name, crest and colours,” it said.

So, as the fans are asking, “who are yer?”

Go North Ventures Inc. is a Toronto-based investment company founded by Alex Shteriev, a mergers and acquisitions advisor with over fifteen years of transaction experience and a co-founder of Beacon Advisors, a leading boutique M&A firm operating across North America.

Go North Ventures invests in businesses and institutions where operational involvement, long-term capital and commercial expertise can create durable value. But no deal with Netflix or Disney yet.

::

We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches starting with the Birmingham lunch on the 23rd of September 2026 at Regina’s in Birmingham.

Tickets here

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Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.

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If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

Rainmakers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

It’s an unedifying thought, but with a large plate in hand, private equity and big corporates are queuing up to gorge themselves on yet more UK stock market companies, with what one commentator describes as being like hungry customers at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and interviews with entrepreneurs like this one, also insights from The Secret Investor, and the leaders from other VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

There was a return to school feel as the markets opened on Tuesday morning after the August bank holiday.

But it was clear that plenty of hardy investment bankers hadn’t in fact been slapping on the factor 50 in Majorca or Miami, but had been grafting away on bids for a rich range of the UK’s unloved stock market listed businesses.

This isn’t just the cycle of business life either, the departees aren’t being replaced as new listings have fallen by nearly two thirds since 1997. Since 2016, 213 companies have left the LSE. AIM has lost more than a thousand companies since 2007 and now sits at a twenty-year low.

On Tuesday the board of Macclesfield-based heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services company Bodycote unanimously recommended shareholders to accept a £1.6bn takeover deal for the group by private equity business, Veritas Capital Fund Management through its Vulcan Alpha Bidco vehicle.

Bodycote’s board were likely to be joining a steady exodus from the London Stock Exchange over the last year, which includes the following.

Intertek: The lab testing group agreed to a £10bn takeover by a consortium led by EQT.

Schroders: The historic asset management group agreed to a £9.9bn takeover by a US investor.

Beazley: The specialist insurer agreed to an £8bn takeover by Zurich.

easyJet: Agreed to a £5.7bn takeover by US private equity firm Apollo.

Segro: The warehouse landlord agreed to a £14bn takeover by Prologis.

ITV: Agreed to sell its broadcasting and streaming business to Comcast.

On top of all that, also on Tuesday, the board of Scottish energy business Capricorn switched its takeover recommendation from one suitor, Genel Energy, to DNO.

It was Russ Mould, investment director at Manchester-based investment platform AJ Bell, who was quick out of the blocks to describe the feast thus: “Overseas acquirers continue to feast on the UK market like hungry customers at an all-you-can-eat buffet.”

Bodycote had successfully rebuffed interest from Apollo earlier this year, but it appears that the board has finally conceded defeat as this initial takeover saga flushed out subsequent interest from two private equity groups in CVC and Veritas.

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The summer lull is over, and everyone is optimistic that deals will get away again when everyone returns to work refreshed next week.

Also, what’s going on at Gateley, with corporate lawyer Paul Jefferson and former Manchester head following CEO Rod Waldie out of the door today.

Here’s a round-up of some eye-catching deals in the last week.

But first a reminder, this is free to all who have signed up, however Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, one in the summer, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.

A Newark built environment consultancy is getting a private equity spring in its step after securing investment from YFM Equity Partners.

BE Design, founded by Anna Tsartsari and Stephen Oakden, has brought in the investor as it looks to expand its services, grow its team and potentially make acquisitions.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

The consultancy works across civil and structural engineering, architecture, highways, geo-environmental services, health and safety, mechanical and electrical engineering and ESG.

It has carved out a niche working on complex brownfield and former industrial sites, with projects spanning logistics, industrial development and data centres across the UK and Europe.

The investment follows more than a decade of growth and the recent opening of a London office.

Tsartsari, chief executive, said: “We’ve spent over a decade building a business known for taking on the sites and challenges others shy away from, and we’ve done it by investing in exceptional people. YFM understood that from our first conversation, and that’s exactly why this partnership feels right.

“This investment gives us the backing to continue investing in our people, deepen our culture and push innovation further, while staying true to the way we’ve always worked. It’s a huge moment for BE Design, and I couldn’t be prouder of what this team has built and where we’re taking it next.”

YFM said the fragmented nature of the built environment consultancy market could provide opportunities for further acquisitions alongside organic growth.

Dan Freed, who led the investment for YFM alongside Oliver Wheatley, said: “Anna and Stephen have built a consultancy with a genuine specialism – the technical capability to unlock complex sites that others can’t, in end markets with real momentum behind them.

“The quality of the team, the strength of their client relationships and the clear opportunity for organic growth, complemented by strong potential for M&A in a growing fragmented market, made this a compelling investment. We’re looking forward to working with the team on the next stage of the journey.”

Richard Sanders will join BE Design as chairman following the deal.

So, with private equity in the passenger seat and M&A firmly on the map, BE Design looks set to keep digging into the tricky sites others might rather leave alone.

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Daresbury-based investor PHD Industrial Holdings is claiming vindication for its patient ‘corporate compounding’ investment model after selling Hylomar Holdings, a Wigan-based manufacturer of high performance sealing and adhesive materials for demanding industrial and engineering applications, to Chase Corporation.

Hylomar has more than 60 years of experience in developing and manufacturing high-performance sealing and adhesive materials.

Chase Corporation, headquartered in Westwood, Massachusetts, is a global leader in the development and manufacture of engineered materials for high-reliability applications.

As PHD’s Craig Richardson said: After originating and negotiating the acquisition back in 2017 and helping the business develop over nine years with a five fold increase in profits with Philip Price I was pleased to have taken the unsolicited call from Chase and negotiated the sale price which we can’t disclose.”

PHD’s claim its ‘corporate compounder’ model compares favourably to traditional private equity, as it can invest for the long term without having to sell businesses within restrictive fund cycles.

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Astra Holding Group, the London-based investor focused on acquiring stable, profitable British businesses and preserving their legacy, has added insurance repair specialist DNH Construction to its growing portfolio of B2B services businesses.

Plymouth-based DNH handles fire, flood, structural and subsidence repairs for major blue-chip insurers across the South West. Founded in 1987, it’s exactly what Astra targets: founder-led, cash-generative, serving reliable corporate clients with 40+ staff and projects worth up to £3m.

Managing director Simon Holmes is staying on, consistent with Astra’s approach of supporting continued growth rather than aggressive optimisation.

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A pair of West Yorkshire marketing agencies have now joined forces to pool their collective expertise. Fishtank Agency, which is based in Mirfield, has netted Boom Marketing as Boom’s own managing director Andrew Moore retires. Boom Marketing was founded by Moore in 2013 and offers creative marketing solutions, including website design, graphic design and signage. Over the past 13 years it has built a client base across blue-chip, retail, manufacturing and distribution sectors.

The deal builds on a lasting business relationship between Moore and Fishtank Agency founder and managing director Damien Fisher. And the new professionals arriving from Boom Marketing comprise the second wave of talent to join Fishtank this year, following its merger with Wild PR.

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Headlam Group is rolling up another corner of its business, completing the €850,000 sale of its Netherlands operations to SIL 2025, a company managed by Rcapital Partners.

The deal covers Headlam Holdings B.V., Headlam B.V. and Dersimo B.V., with around €170,000 in net proceeds after costs earmarked for working capital.

The disposal forms part of a wider plan to strip back the group and focus solely on the UK flooring market.

Headlam launched its transformation programme last year after a prolonged market downturn pushed losses higher. It has since set its sights on delivering at least £35m of annual profit improvements by the end of 2026.

The plan includes consolidating its network, centralising buying and shrinking its warehouse footprint – essentially giving the business a smaller footprint to stand on.

Rob Barclay, chief executive of Headlam said: “The completion of the sale of our Netherlands businesses marks another step towards creating a simpler, more focused Headlam, centred solely on the UK market. We are pleased to have reached an outcome that provides the Netherlands businesses with a focused ownership structure and the support of an experienced investor.”

The sale follows a testing period in the boardroom, after activist investor First Seagull attempted to remove three directors earlier this year.

With its Dutch operations now out of the picture, Headlam is hoping its UK-focused strategy will provide a firmer foundation for its next phase – and that the turnaround finally starts to stick.

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Allan Corfield Architects (ACA) and its sister company Allan Corfield Structures (ACS) have been bought out of administration by DJI Architecture.

Founded in Dunfermline in 2009, ACA is a specialist in the self‑build and custom‑build sector, while ACS was established in 2020 to provide structural engineering services to those using modern construction methods.

The businesses employed 14 staff – 10 at ACA and four at ACS – who were all made redundant following the liquidations.

DJI Architecture has subsequently been able to bring over 10 of them, with 100% retention in Dalgety Bay and Dunfermline, save for the departing ‘oldco’ shareholders Allan and Emma Corfield.

The business will initially trade as ACA, led by existing senior management team David MacFarlane, Iga Panczyna and Jenny Chandela, working alongside Rod J McMillan, a non-executive director and investor, who becomes non-executive chair.

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Paul Jefferson is to step down from Gateley, following chief executive Rod Waldie out of the stock market listed practice.

Jefferson, has been a corporate lawyer for 34 years, first with DLA, then with Halliwells, before the last 16 years at Gateley where he served as office managing partner in the Manchester office.

He joined Gateley’s strategic board in October 2022.

He said on LinkedIn: “Friday is my last day in the office and I am retiring from private practice to see what being a real person is like!”

Born in the North East, his other interests outside of the law include as a director and founder of Horneywink Cider and the chair, of the PXN Growth VCT.

He has acted for finance group Praetura since it was in started in 2011, and advised the founders when it merged with Par Equity to form PXN Group.

Cornish cider brand Horneywink was founded by Jefferson’s school friends Chris and Sara Reid and is based near Falmouth.

As for Gateley, the firm has recently bolstered its corporate team with the addition of veteran corporate lawyer Danny Hall, joining the firm to work alongside partners Charles Glaskie and Leigh Whittaker.

In July TheBusinessDesk.com reported that the listed legal and professional services group reported record revenue of £194.3m for the year to 30 April 2026, up 8.2% on the prior year, but that chief executive Rod Waldie was to step back from the role due to personal health-related circumstances.

Gateley also revealed that its net debt of £25.3m at the year end had soared from £6.6m the previous year, which it said had been driven by increased working capital, alongside acquisition consideration payments, dividends paid and EBT share purchases.

The Birmingham-headquartered group went through an IPO in 2015 and has remained a listed professional services group since.

We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches starting with the Birmingham lunch on the 23rd of September 2026 at Regina’s in Birmingham.

Tickets here

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Ambitious accountancy firm Dains is betting on further growth in the East Midlands corporate finance market as it brings more than 100 colleagues together at a new Leicester base.

The accountancy and advisory firm has invested in a 10,845 sq ft office at Lakeside House, Grove Park, bringing its Leicester and Rugby teams under one roof and creating a platform for further expansion.

But as Mark Tuckwell, regional managing partner for Dains in the Midlands, tells Ellie Hollinshead, the move is about considerably more than property.

The former Magma co-founder sees the investment as part of a wider push to strengthen Dains’ position among privately owned businesses, particularly those approaching significant decisions around acquisitions, disposals, investment, funding and succession.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and interviews with entrepreneurs like this one, also insights from The Secret Investor, and the leaders from other VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge. This one is on us.

I sit down with Mark Tuckwell to discuss the firm’s plans for the region, the corporate finance market and he explains that having the right people in place is becoming increasingly important as businesses grow.

Dains’ Leicester and Rugby teams previously operated from separate offices. Bringing them together means specialists across corporate finance, tax, audit, accounting and wider advisory services can work more closely on client assignments.

“Bringing teams together in one place makes collaboration much easier. Technology plays an important role, but there is still no substitute for being in the same room. People can work more closely together, learn from each other and build stronger relationships.”

For a corporate finance business, that collaboration can directly affect the service offered to clients.

A transaction rarely sits neatly within one discipline. A business preparing for a sale may need corporate finance advice alongside tax planning, due diligence, accounting support and wider strategic input.

Having those capabilities operating alongside each other gives Dains the opportunity to take a more joined-up approach to mandates.

Tuckwell believes that is particularly important as the firm’s client base becomes increasingly ambitious.

Dains is targeting privately owned businesses that are looking to scale, raise funding, acquire competitors, sell their companies or plan for succession.

The firm’s ambition is to “move upstream” and work with businesses where its broader advisory capability can make a meaningful difference.

That reflects Tuckwell’s own experience.

He began his career in tax at PwC before moving into transaction tax and then corporate finance. In 2011, he co-founded Leicester-based Magma with three other partners, building the business before it became part of Dains in 2023.

Joining Dains gave the business access to greater resources and a broader range of expertise, while allowing its team to continue focusing on client relationships.

Tuckwell said the experience has also influenced the way he views the challenges facing growing companies.

One of the biggest indicators that a business is ready for its next stage, he believes, is when its leadership recognises that it cannot continue doing everything itself.

“The acknowledgement, almost acknowledging you need support and help is not a weakness. It’s a strength.”

That can be particularly relevant when a company reaches the point where its owners are considering a transaction.

Whether the objective is raising investment, acquiring another business or preparing for a sale, decisions become more complex as the value and scale of the company increases.

Tuckwell has advised businesses across the region through those moments and said the strongest companies tend to recognise when specialist advice can help them achieve more.

The East Midlands provides a sizeable market for that strategy.

Leicester and the surrounding region have a large base of privately owned manufacturing, engineering, logistics, consumer, professional services and technology businesses, many of which are now navigating succession, investment and consolidation.

Dains wants to position itself as an adviser capable of staying with those companies throughout their growth journey.

That means developing long-term relationships rather than simply becoming involved when a transaction is ready to happen.

“Clients want to be treated as individuals and feel genuinely looked after. They value long-term relationships and advice that is tailored to their specific circumstances, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.”

The new Leicester office is designed to support that model.

It provides a larger regional hub where corporate finance specialists can work alongside tax, audit and advisory teams, while also giving Dains capacity to bring more people into the business.

There is room for around 15 additional colleagues when the office is fully occupied.

For Tuckwell, recruitment is a key part of the growth strategy.

“To support our growth ambitions as a business, we need ambitious people who share our values. Bringing in the right people allows us to support the right clients and continue building the business in the right way.”

That could mean further strengthening the corporate finance team as well as adding expertise across other service lines.

The wider objective is to create a deeper pool of specialists capable of supporting increasingly complex client mandates.

The investment also comes at a time when professional services firms are competing heavily for experienced corporate finance talent.

For Dains, the quality of its workplace is therefore part of its ability to attract the people it needs to grow.

The new office has been designed with collaborative working areas, meeting rooms and social spaces, alongside quieter areas for focused work.

Tuckwell said the intention is to create an environment where people actively want to spend time together.

That matters commercially because corporate finance remains a relationship-driven business.

Deals are built on trust, and the relationships between advisers, management teams, shareholders, funders and other professional advisers can be just as important as technical expertise.

The Leicester investment is also part of a wider programme of investment across Dains’ office network, including improvements to its Nottingham, Birmingham and London locations.

For the East Midlands operation, however, Leicester provides a particularly important base.

The new location at Grove Park places the firm within one of the region’s established business communities and gives it a central platform from which to serve clients across Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and the wider Midlands.

Tuckwell also believes the location will help Dains attract people who may previously have been less inclined to join the firm because of its previous office arrangements.

The office has capacity for further growth, but the ambition is not simply to fill desks.

Dains wants to build a team capable of supporting businesses as they become larger, more sophisticated and increasingly active in the transactions market.

That could put the firm in a stronger position to compete for larger corporate finance mandates across the region.

For Tuckwell, the opportunity ultimately comes back to the businesses Dains advises.

The East Midlands has no shortage of entrepreneurial companies, but many are reaching points where the decisions they face require a different level of advice.

An owner considering a sale needs to understand valuation, deal structure, tax and the market for their business. A company pursuing an acquisition needs funding, due diligence and integration advice. Businesses preparing for succession need to consider both the financial and personal implications of handing over control.

Those are the areas where Dains wants to build its reputation.

The new Leicester office therefore represents more than a consolidation of two teams.

It is a physical investment behind a broader commercial strategy: get more specialists in the same place, recruit more talent, deepen client relationships and compete for a greater share of the East Midlands’ corporate finance market.

Tuckwell’s own journey from tax into transactions and from business owner to regional managing partner gives him a particularly close view of that opportunity.

He has experienced the challenge of growing a professional services business himself and now wants Dains to help other businesses navigate their own next stages.

The Leicester office gives the firm the infrastructure to do that.

The next test will be whether the investment translates into what ultimately matters in corporate finance – more clients, bigger mandates and more successful transactions across the region.

We have great pleasure in opening up ticket sales for a series of Rainmakers lunches starting with the Birmingham lunch on the 23rd of September 2026 at Regina’s in Birmingham.

Tickets here

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Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.

The insights and commentary we share with you are rooted in the trust we have built in the business community.

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If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

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Things never stay the same for long in the trade and invoice finance world.

This week Time Finance has agreed to a recommended £55m cash takeover by Bentley Park (UK), the parent company of Ultimate Finance.

The deal would bring together two of the UK’s specialist SME lenders, creating a combined net loan book of nearly £650m.

But first a reminder, this is free to all who have signed up, however Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, one in the summer, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.

The logic of the merger is that while Time are strong in the South West and North West, Ultimate has greater reach in the Midlands and Yorkshire.

As Ed Rimmer, chief executive of Time Finance, said: “We share a lot of mutual ambitions for the continued growth of the business going forward.”

He said the businesses shared “a strong strategic fit” that would create “a broader platform” without losing focus on customers and introducers.

Bentley Park intends to delist Time Finance following completion and stop offering new soft asset financing products, which it regards as non-core to the combined business. It expects any headcount reduction from that change to be limited, though it has cautioned separately that wider restructuring following a planned review of the business “could be material” for Time Finance’s roughly 150-strong workforce.

It is embarking on a six-month review followed by an implementation period lasting up to nine months.

Ultimate Finance, founded in 2002 and part of the Tavistock Group, has funded more than £19bn to UK SMEs to date. Its own loan book had grown to a record £430m in June, following a period of strong organic growth that included a widening of its invoice finance facility limits earlier this year.

Josh Levy, chief executive of Bentley Park and Ultimate Finance, said: “This acquisition is an exciting opportunity to bring together two strong specialist lenders with complementary capabilities, shared values and a common focus on supporting UK SMEs.”

Time Finance was founded in 2000 and listed on AIM in 2006 under the name 1pm plc. The business grew from its roots as a smaller SME lender into a broader specialist finance provider spanning asset finance, invoice finance and business loans, and it rebranded as Time Finance in 2020.

It has seen its loan book grow for 20 consecutive quarters and it stood at approximately £218m as at 30 June, split between £141m in asset finance and £77m in invoice finance.

Cavendish is acting as financial adviser to Time Finance, while Dickson Minto Advisers is advising Bentley Park.

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Betano’s Daskalakis to place bet on Bristol City’s Premier League ambitions.

George Daskalakis, the Greek gambling tycoon behind Betano, is betting on Bristol City’s promotion chances with a minority stake acquisition from owner Steve Lansdown.

Kaizen Gaming’s Betano has been in the Premier League before, but only on the front of Aston Villa’s shirt as its main sponsor. But this is a different bet entirely, and a promotion gamble could be worth hundreds of millions.

But, just as with other forms of betting, reality can quickly replace optimism. In Bristol City’s first Championship match of the season last weekend they had more red cards than shots on target as they got beat 2-0 at home to Millwall.

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A Mansfield fire safety specialist is changing hands after a two-year growth blaze, with Premier Technical Services Group (PTSG) acquiring Integrated Doorset Solutions Group (IDSL) from private equity investor LDC.

The deal sees LDC leave the building after backing IDSL’s management team in May 2024.

Since then, IDSL has turned up the heat on expansion, growing revenues by 73% to £60m and increasing EBITDA from around £5m to £14m.

Employee numbers have also risen from 286 to 485, while the business has expanded through acquisitions including Hartland Fire and Fire Doors Rite.

IDSL, which provides fire door manufacturing, inspection, maintenance and compliance services, has also invested in its Mansfield operation, opening a new 20,000 sq ft manufacturing facility.

The growth has helped IDSL build some serious firepower, giving PTSG a larger platform in the fire safety market as it takes the business into its next phase.

For LDC, the deal brings the curtain down on a partnership focused on supporting IDSL’s expansion through organic growth and acquisitions.

LDC’s investment supported IDSL’s expansion into new markets, with acquisitions broadening its customer base and strengthening its inspection and maintenance capabilities.

With LDC now out of the picture and PTSG taking the reins, IDSL has a new owner and a clear runway for its next phase of growth.

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Coventry engineering specialist NCMT has secured £13.5m from NatWest to complete a management buyout and put the business in gear for its next phase of growth.

The package includes an £8.3m revolving credit facility, a £4m bond facility, plus foreign exchange and operational support.

Based on Siskin Drive, NCMT supplies and services high-tech machine tools used by manufacturers for metal cutting and grinding, helping them boost efficiency and cut waste.

The funding has already helped the existing leadership team take control of the business, with further investment planned in technology, apprenticeships and its Coventry workforce.

Managing director Jonathan Smart said the deal gives NCMT the flexibility to invest for the future, while finance director Timothy Dooner said the business wanted a banking partner that understood the peaks and troughs of exporting, bonding and long-term skills investment.

Will Jones, relationship director at NatWest, said NCMT combines decades of engineering heritage with a focus on innovation, highlighting the Midlands’ strength in high-value manufacturing.

With the management team now firmly at the controls, NCMT is looking to machine its way into its next stage of growth.

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Our Scottish rainmakers this week were all busy on property-related deals.

Yesterday, Hardies Chartered Surveyors announced it has acquired Storrier & Donaldson’s quantity surveying practice.

The private transaction sees Storrier & Donaldson owner Robert Currie join as consultant partner, with his team relocating to the Glasgow city centre offices of Shepherd and Hardies.

Also in Glasgow, lettings and property management start-up Dwello Property has acquired the lettings business of Thomson Residential.

The firm will continue operating from Thomson’s Clarkston Road office, with the deal increasing overall headcount to 21.

Bank of Scotland supported the acquisition with a £520,000 term loan, which should enable Dwello to pursue “further carefully-selected growth opportunities” and invest in its people, systems and processes.

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Having now completed the Rainmaker events in the West Midlands, North West and Yorkshire, we have also now announced dates and an opening for entries for the East Midlands event on the 5th of November in Nottingham and the South West event on the 26th of November in Bristol.

Last year the events sold out, so book early to secure your table.

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Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.

The insights and commentary we share with you are rooted in the trust we have built in the business community.

We’re also on LinkedIn - please join our Rainmakers community group for updates and offers and opportunities to comment.

If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

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So much of Rainmakers’ reporting is about the pipeline, the negotiations and the announcement of acquisitions.

But what about the potentially-just-as-consequential integration of that newly-bought business?

To build an idea of what merger best practice might look like in 2026, we spoke to a few deal-making bosses, along with investors, advisors and trade bodies.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and interviews with entrepreneurs like this one, also insights from The Secret Investor, and the leaders from other VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

The Macfarlane Group has completed 20 acquisitions in the last 10 years, keeping a pretty steady pace of two a year.

In January 2025, the Glasgow-based packaging firm acquired the Pitreavie Group for £18m, including an earn-out of up to £4m over two years. This followed an £11.5m deal for Bedfordshire-based foam specialist Polyformes in July 2024 and the £3.25m purchase of East Anglian company Allpack Packaging Supplies in March that year. There were also two additions in 2023: protective packaging firm B&D 2010 Group for £3.85m in October and A&G Holdings - owner of Gottlieb Packaging Materials - for £3.55m in May.

Chief executive Peter Atkinson said, perhaps predictably, that the starting point is to only buy quality firms.

“This means we don’t arrive at integration with any things we need to do in a panic,” he stated. “Quality for us is not just the financial performance, but the way it’s run and the style of management - which must fit with our customer orientation.

“I’d say about half the businesses we buy are because the owner wants to retire without succession in place - but often these leaders have stayed on longer than they thought they would, as they’ve generated some money and realised they still have a passion for the business.”

Macfarlane always uses an earn-out structure, whereby an agreed acquisition price comes with further money due depending on achieving particular agreed targets. “So the initial stages are all about supporting them to achieve these - we find it creates a momentum and is mutually beneficial,” Atkinson noted.

As for the rough hierarchy of needs during the merger process, he said the first thing to do is settling down all the new people to ensure they will stay, before moving to things like the property estate.

“There are often opportunities to integrate their offices into a current Macfarlane property - I’d say about 20% have been able to co-locate, or visa versa - then we look at things like purchasing synergies - typically we buy smaller businesses, so we work with their supply bases to see what benefits we can bring through scale - and then usually its relatively small job with things like IT, accounting and back office processes, but we always try to merge those into our systems,” explained Atkinson.

“Anything we do on integration has to be consistent with the earn out programme - and part of what we’re buying is their brand, so we tend not to interfere with branding; maybe introducing co-branding at a later date,” he concluded. “They’ve all been within our space, so it’s just about building scale, expanding geographic coverage and becoming the market leader in spaces we understand.”

A business at an earlier stage in its acquisitive growth journey is Dundee-headquartered chartered surveyors and property consultants Graham + Sibbald.

Read more

AO World chief executive John Roberts has delivered a robust defence of the public markets, insisting he would “take being listed over private equity all day long” despite the scrutiny and volatility that come with a stock market quote.

In a wide‑ranging conversation, link to the main interview here, Roberts said the Manchester‑based online electricals retailer had long since made its peace with the demands of life as a plc.

“I’d rather be listed than private equity owned all day long,” he says. “There’s nothing wrong with being listed at all. It is not a problem for us, or me. It took a bit of getting used to, but it’s not even onerous… we don’t even do quarterly reporting anymore. We do six monthly.”

He contrasts that with what he sees as the rigidity – and the cliff‑edge dynamics – of private equity ownership, particularly for rank‑and‑file staff whose wealth is often locked up until an exit.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and interviews with entrepreneurs like this one, also insights from The Secret Investor, and the leaders from other VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge. This one’s on us.

Roberts is pretty dismissive of private equity for a myriad of reasons.

“If you’re in a private equity scenario, you are completely locked in with no liquidity. Well, that’s not good for all our people,” he argues, pointing to AO’s annual “gates” that allow employees and other shareholders to sell down.

“People have got mortgages to pay, they’ve got holidays to pay for, they’ve got kids to put through school and college… You don’t necessarily want a cliff where everything builds to that and then you’ve got to go again on the next private equity deal.”

Roberts is clear‑eyed about the market’s challenges – recalling how a modest profit miss in 2015 wiped hundreds of millions off AO’s value overnight – but says he has become more “ambivalent” about the share price and more focused on the underlying relationships.

“In 2015 we missed our profit by about a million quid… it wiped £400m off our market cap in the day,” he says. “The market always overreacts on all this stuff.”

The shareholder club: Ashley, Camelot, and the long tail

AO’s register is relatively tight, which he said helps. Roberts reels off the names almost as if he’s describing a syndicate.

“We’ve not got many shareholders,” he says. “We’ve got Mike Ashley, Camelot Capital Partners, James Hanbury at Lancaster, BlackRock, Vanguard, which makes up about 85% of the register… and then you’re into a very long tail.”

At the top of that list is Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which has quietly built its holding in AO to around 26%. Roberts insists the relationship is cordial, pragmatic – and refreshingly low‑maintenance.

“Mike Ashley is our biggest shareholder. I went three years without even speaking to Mike,” he says. “Now, if he ever wants to speak to me, he’ll send me a text message, and I’ll ring him back within whatever is a convenient time period.”

Contact, he reveals, when it comes, is direct and to the point.

“I spoke to him after our results for about five minutes,” Roberts recalls. “He rang me to congratulate me on the results, thanked me for the dividend that he got, and we had a bit of a laugh about it. He said, ‘I don’t know how you’re doing this. Who makes 4% in electricals? You’re knocking it out of the park. Keep doing it. I’m a very happy shareholder. Thanks very much, and have a nice summer.’”

Behind the scenes, Frasers’ strategic heft has already been deployed – even when proposed deals haven’t come off. AO explored using Frasers’ credit operation, but existing contracts made it impractical.

“We looked at that, but we couldn’t do Fraser’s credit,” Roberts says. “We were already in an agreement with NewDay… so we couldn’t do it because we were in contract. But we did use the Frasers position to renegotiate the contract with NewDay, and I rang Mike and said, ‘Thanks very much.’ As the key shareholder, you have actually helped us get a better deal.”

Listed, liquid (enough), and emotionally invested

If Ashley is the highest‑profile name on the register, Roberts insists AO’s broader investor base is just as important – and, in his view, unusually engaged.

“We’ve got great investors in our business who ask great questions, who are both economically and emotionally involved in the business, and we have a great relationship,” he says. “I’m super accessible… they’ve all got my number, they send me a WhatsApp, and I’ll give them a call back normally in about three hours.”

That accessibility and the steadying presence of long‑term holders are part of why, despite the scars of the IPO years and the swings in sentiment, Roberts is staying firmly on the public markets side of the listed‑vs‑PE debate.

For AO, he suggests, the combination of a tight, supportive register, real liquidity for employees and a CEO who still owns a “huge chunk” of his family’s wealth in the shares means that public markets, warts and all, are the better fit.

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Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

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If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

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Welcome to your weekly round up of deals from around the country.

Frasers Group has added a little more luxury to its shopping list, acquiring Harvey Nichols out of administration as it looks to reshape the long-established department store.

But first a reminder, this is free to all who have signed up, however Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, one in the summer, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.

Frasers has bought the business and assets of Harvey Nichols from FTI Consulting for an undisclosed sum, including six UK stores, its online operation, stock and more than 1,000 employees.

The deal covers Harvey Nichols sites in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Edinburgh, as well as its international franchise agreements. Selected assets at the Dublin store are also included, while discussions over the future of the site continue.

The OXO restaurant has been left off the menu, having been sold to another buyer.

Frasers said Harvey Nichols had endured “sustained trading and operational challenges” and that a significant restructuring would be needed to return the business to profit.

That means the luxury retailer could be in for some designer downsizing, with Frasers reviewing its store estate, organisational structure, operating model and cost base.

Michael Murray, chief executive of Frasers Group, said: “Harvey Nichols is an iconic British institution with significant potential, but it is clear meaningful change is needed.

“The turnaround will require tough choices, and we are prepared to make those decisions, even if that means a smaller business in the near term, to create a stronger and more sustainable Harvey Nichols for the long term.

“By integrating Harvey Nichols into our existing luxury ecosystem, we believe Frasers Group can deliver the expertise, infrastructure and commitment needed to give the business the best chance of long-term success.”

The acquisition adds another big-name label to Frasers’ wardrobe, alongside luxury businesses including Flannels, The Webster and HULCAN’s MILE.

Harvey Nichols dates back almost 200 years and stocks more than 800 premium and luxury brands, including Gucci, Moncler, Burberry, Prada and Dior.

The deal ends 35 years of ownership by Hong Kong businessman Sir Dickson Poon and hands Frasers another high-profile turnaround project.

Harvey Nichols chief executive Julia Goddard said: “Today marks an important milestone for Harvey Nichols and provides a strong platform for the next phase of the business’s evolution under the ownership of Frasers Group.

“Over the past year, we have made significant progress in repositioning this iconic business, investing in our flagship store, broadening our customer proposition, and strengthening the brand DNA.”

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Funktion Leisure has joined the party, acquiring Bath-based Groupia and its GoHen and StagWeb brands out of administration.

The deal brings the hen and stag travel specialists into the Chester-based group behind Funktion Events, an ABTA-bonded operator that has been arranging group events, corporate trips and pre-wedding blowouts since 2007.

Groupia entered administration in June, bringing the party to an abrupt end after 24 years in business.

More than 750,000 travellers have booked through its brands since launch, giving Funktion a sizeable customer base to work with as it plots the next stage of growth.

And there is no need to RSVP: both GoHen and StagWeb are already back up and taking bookings.

Jay Broughton, managing director of Funktion Leisure, said: “GoHen and StagWeb have been two of the best-known names in UK group travel since 2002, with more than 750,000 customers between the Groupia brands. Our priority has been straightforward: get both brands running again quickly, look after customers, and build on what made them work.”

The acquisition gives the brands a new home within an established group, with booking operations restored and further investment planned.

Funktion said it will put money into both businesses over the coming months, with more details to follow.

For now, it looks like the stag has been saved, the hens are back in the nest, and the party can carry on.

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A merger between Manchester-based telecoms and broadband supplier, TalkTalk Business, and ARO, a Liverpool-based technology services provider, will create one of the UK’s largest independent connectivity and managed technology services providers.

TalkTalk Business completed its demerger from the wider Talk Talk Group in February this year, to operate as a fully independent managed network service provider.

In April it leased 10,472 sq ft of office space in Building 1 at Exchange Quay in Manchester on a seven-year lease, relocating its 136-strong team from its former Soapworks base in Salford.

With approximately 650 employees, annual revenues of around £180m and a combined customer base of more than 70,000 organisations, the new group will be uniquely positioned to help organisations accelerate their digital ambitions through a single trusted technology partner.

Ruth Kennedy, CEO of TalkTalk Business, said: “This merger represents another important step in our transformation into a leading managed services provider and brings together two highly complementary businesses to create a leading independent technology partner for UK organisations.”

The merger brings together leading expertise in connectivity, cloud, cyber security and managed IT services to create a major new force in the UK technology market.

The companies say combining ARO’s strengths in cloud, cyber security and managed IT services with TalkTalk Business’s established expertise in connectivity, networking and communications creates a broader end-to-end technology proposition for customers across the UK.

For ARO, the merger represents an opportunity to extend its impact as part of a larger organisation with expanded capabilities, greater scale and increased capacity for investment, enabling it to support customers with an even broader range of technology solutions.

For TalkTalk Business, the merger marks another significant milestone in its evolution into a managed technology services provider following its separation from TalkTalk Group.

It builds on the recent acquisition of Planet IT and brings together complementary expertise that further strengthens its ability to support customers with integrated connectivity, cloud, cyber security and managed IT services.

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Newton Property Management has acquired Aberdeenshire-based PMC Property Management, strengthening its presence in the north east to approximately 17,000 properties in the area.

PMC Property Management will continue to trade under its existing brand, supported by Newton’s operational resources.

Co-owner Neale Bisset will join Newton, while his fellow co-owner Annette Hudson is retiring.

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Having now completed the Rainmaker events in the West Midlands, North West and Yorkshire, we have also now announced dates and an opening for entries for the East Midlands event on the 5th of November in Nottingham and the South West event on the 26th of November in Bristol.

Last year the events sold out, so book early to secure your table.

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Sheryl Moore looks at how the transport technology group Tracsis has delivered on years of strategic promises with decisive action, buying rail software specialist Mistral Data while selling a services-led business that no longer fits its plans.

Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week (one in summer), but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and sector insights like this one, also The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from other VC and PE investors like Endless, BGF and WestBridge.

Leeds transport technology group Tracsis has stopped talking about transformation and started delivering it.

Within the space of a week, the AIM-listed business agreed its biggest acquisition in years, paying £48m for rail software specialist Mistral Data, before selling its Events Transport Planning and Management business for £7.25m.

One deal brings in exactly the kind of recurring software revenues the company has spent years pursuing. The other removes a profitable but services-led business that no longer fits the direction of travel.

Individually, they are significant transactions. Together, they demonstrate that Tracsis is accelerating a strategy first outlined several years ago – one that will leave the business looking very different from the company it was when David Frost took over as chief executive in 2023.

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Welcome to your weekly round up of deals from around the country.

Bodycote is the latest UK industrial business to attract the attention of US private equity investors, but first we delve into what’s behind Peel’s bid for Harworth group.

But first a reminder, This is free to all who have signed up, however Rainmakers subscribers get at least two unique pieces a week, one in the summer, and also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.

Regeneration specialist Harworth Group has become the target of a £583m takeover bid from Manchester-based Peel Holdings.

The audacious bid consisted of a cash offer for Harworth through Peel Pepper (UK), valuing the company at approximately £582.9m.

However, following Peel’s stock market announcement on Thursday, Harworth’s response was to review the terms and urged shareholders to take no action.”

The offer values Harworth shares at 172.5p each – a premium of 20.1% to Wednesday’s closing price and 36% above the company’s three-month volume-weighted average share price.

But alongside the financial offer, Peel has also signalled plans for a wide-ranging strategic review that could reshape one of Yorkshire’s best-known regeneration businesses.

So what’s behind it?

According to AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould enthusiasm for all matters related to artificial intelligence (AI) may be one factor behind the takeover offer.

“One land sale back in 2024 to Microsoft showed that Harworth had assets that were suitable for the development of a hyperscaler data centre, and the FTSE 250 index member has identified a second project where sale negotiations have already commenced. Perhaps it was this news that focused Peel Group’s mind, and the share price has shot up to match the all-cash offer price of 172.5p in response.”

He added that there’s also something of a realignment going on in UK real estate where plenty of investors clearly see long-term value in British brick and mortar.

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Any Bodycote shareholders that cashed out in a share buyback programme at 700p will be kicking themselves this week as the stock hit 900p after two US private equity bidders made generous cash offers for the Macclesfield, Cheshire headquartered heat processor.

Both private equity offers value the company at around £1.6bn. The business was valued at £1.56bn on current share trading.

Responding to speculation regarding potential offers, it confirmed CVC Advisers has proposed an offer of up to 915p per share, including a 7.2p interim dividend.

The board revealed that the CVC proposal follows earlier approaches from CVC regarding a possible cash offer.

And Veritas Capital Fund IX has proposed an approach of up to 914p per share, also including the 7.2p interim dividend.

Again, Bodycote says the Veritas proposal follows a number of earlier approaches regarding a possible cash offer.

The Bodycote board said it has carefully considered both proposals and would be minded to recommend them to shareholders, subject to satisfactory due diligence and definitive documentation.

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A Market Harborough manufacturer is putting a new spin on an old family business after completing a management buyout backed by seven-figure HSBC UK funding.

Harboro Rubber has changed hands after six generations, with managing director Michael Fallis-Taylor taking full ownership from James Briggs.

The business, which makes specialist rubber components and the Dainite shoe sole brand, is now looking to stretch its growth further through R&D, new products and investment in manufacturing technology.

Fallis-Taylor said: “Having spent the last eight years helping to shape its growth, I’ve seen first-hand the dedication of our people, strength of our partnerships and the reputation we’ve built.

“Taking ownership allows us to write the next chapter in a remarkable six-generation story, combining the heritage, craftsmanship and values that have stood the test of time with a bold vision for the future.”

HSBC UK backed the deal, with relationship manager Sophia Woods saying: “It’s fantastic to support Harboro Rubber through this milestone moment. The business has an incredible 130-year history, and it’s exciting to see that legacy being carried forward by a team that is passionate about its future.”

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A Midlands accountancy firm is adding to its regional reach after joining forces with a Tamworth rival, bringing more expertise and services under one roof.

Jerroms has merged with the Tamworth office of Philip Barnes Accountants, strengthening its support for small and medium-sized businesses.

The move sees the two firms combine their local knowledge and client relationships, while giving customers access to a wider range of specialist advice through the wider Sumer Group.

Philip Barnes’ Uttoxeter office will also join fellow Sumer member DPC as part of the reshuffle.

Lucas Markou, director at Jerroms said: “Welcoming the Philip Barnes Tamworth team into Jerroms marks an exciting step for both firms. Their strong local reputation and client-first approach align closely with our own values, and together we’ll be able to offer an even broader range of services and specialist support. This partnership strengthens our presence in the region and reinforces our commitment to delivering high-quality advice with genuine local insight.”

John Clark, director at Philip Barnes’ Tamworth office said: “Joining Jerroms gives our Tamworth clients access to wider specialist capability while allowing us to maintain the personal, local service they value. This partnership is a natural next step in our growth, and we’re excited about the opportunities it creates for our clients and our team.”

With the numbers adding up, the firms say the deal will combine local relationships with the wider resources of Sumer – giving Midlands businesses more in their advice column.

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Television presenter Nick Knowles has become a shareholder in Championship rugby side Cornish Pirates.

The presenter, best known for shows such as DIY SOS and National Lottery: Who Dares Wins, is the latest person to join the club’s ownership group.

Pirates became the first English professional side to have American ownership when Pittsburgh-based Stonewood Capital Management took a stake in May.

Sally Pettipher, chief executive of Cornish Pirates, told BBC Sport: “This investment, becoming a shareholder, is him putting some skin in the game and bringing with him his rugby heritage. He’s got a rugby brain, he’s got a rugby background, he’s well connected in that world, he does an awful lot of philanthropy in that world and he brings visibility to us, which I think is really important.”

She added: “He’s Cornish by choice. There’s a spirit to the place that gets under your skin and he’s been an ambassador for Cornish Pirates for over a season now already, he’s in the crowd and people don’t know.”

The club has been looking for more investment since long-serving owner Sir Dicky Evans’ near three-decade association with the club ended in January 2025.

Cornish Pirates’ ownership is now a mix of their United States-based investors and a group of shareholders.

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Having now completed the Rainmaker events in the West Midlands, North West and Yorkshire, we have also now announced dates and an opening for entries for the East Midlands event on the 5th of November in Nottingham and the South West event on the 26th of November in Bristol.

Last year the events sold out, so book early to secure your table.

::

Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.

We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.

The insights and commentary we share with you are rooted in the trust we have built in the business community.

We’re also on LinkedIn - please join our Rainmakers community group for updates and offers and opportunities to comment.

If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.

Rainmakers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now