Asset funding boost for Praetura, tyre rescue, and NorthEdge go for it with Latus expansion
Our weekly free round up of key deals and major moves in the Rainmakers world
Hello Rainmakers,
It’s been the shortlisting week for the Rainmaker awards in two of our regions this week.
Both went very, very well. We had a couple of subsequent claims for inclusion for advisers on shortlisted deals, which is an important part of the process.
And we will be asking each of the shortlisted to back their winning pitch with some information about their deal achievements over the year.
We also had a plea for a deal to be moved from the small to the medium category. The reason this happens is because no-one says what the deal value is any more, so we have to make an educated guess.
Maybe we should put them all in the small deal category and see what happens.
Here are a few eye-catching deals from our team of regional reporters and editors.
This is free to all who have signed up, however Rainmakers subscribers get 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, and River Capital, Foresight, Mercia, Puma and LDC.
An acquisitive PE-backed Hull-based occupational health group has demonstrated its continued hunger for expansion with its fifth takeover since July 2024. Latus Group, which is backed by NorthEdge, has acquired Cirrus Environmental Solutions, a North East-based occupational hygiene specialist. Latus says the deal not only strengthens its national footprint but is intended to establish it as one of the UK’s leading occupational hygiene providers.
Cirrus has technical expertise within key occupational hygiene services, including air quality and exposure monitoring, occupational noise surveys, Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) Testing and Whole Body and Hand Arm Vibration monitoring. The acquisition means Cirrus’s office in the North East will become Latus’s Northern Hub. From here it will provide Occupational Hygiene and extended Occupational Health services in the northern regions and Scotland, giving the group broader national coverage.
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More than 130 jobs have been saved after Formula One Autocentres snapped up 35 sites from ATS Euromaster, accelerating its nationwide expansion.
The deal takes the business to 170 locations, with systems switching over the Bank Holiday before a fresh coat of paint and rebrand rolls out across the new sites.
The expansion stretches across the UK and keeps the business firmly on track for its 250-site ambition, with around 1,100 staff now helping keep motorists moving through services including tyres, MOTs, servicing and diagnostics.
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Dublin-headquartered digital transformation consultancy Version 1 is set to acquire Edinburgh-based technology services firm CreateFuture.
While there was no price attached, the deal creates a combined organisation of 4,250 employees with annual revenues of more than €500m.
Founded in 2010, CreateFuture has 550 staff working with clients in sectors such as financial services, utilities and gaming.
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Specialist lender Praetura has secured a £150m back-to-back asset-based lending (ABL) facility with NatWest.
The facility gives a huge boost to Praetura’s funding capacity where its Sales Finance division backs businesses with invoice discounting, asset based lending and cash flow loans.
NatWest first backed Praetura when it launched as Praetura Commercial Finance in 2016.
Its grown a lot since then and the 150-strong team now has offices across the North West, with additional presence in London, the Midlands, the South and the North East.
The business is now completely seperate from the venture capital investor after Praetura Ventures merged with Par Equity in Scotland to form PXN.
Peadar O’Reilly, Chief Executive at Praetura, said: “Closing this facility with a renowned and respected institution reflects the quality of the whole Praetura business, and empowers us to offer more extensive funding support to UK SMEs as they continue to navigate both the challenges and opportunities created by the current economic outlook.
“The entire organisation remains committed to a common goal of supporting the sustainable growth of these businesses and we are grateful for NatWest’s backing to help us do exactly that.”
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The North West, Yorkshire and West Midlands Rainmaker Awards are upon us, once again bringing together the region’s deals community to celebrate the standout deals, teams, and individuals of the past 12 months.
Voted for by the corporate finance community itself, the awards are decided on a one-firm, one-vote basis – making the Rainmaker a genuine peer-led recognition.
Voting forms start landing next week, after the shortlists have been agreed by a judging day involving all the region’s leading firms.
The Rainmaker Awards ditch black-tie formality and speeches in favour of a relaxed evening focused on what the deals and the people who made them happen.
The evening is also a great way to connect with leading firms and individuals shaping the regional deal landscape.
There is a new individual category this year, as we will recognise Lifetime Achievement of one of our Rainmakers for the first time.
The 2026 Yorkshire awards are on June the 11th at New Dock Hall in Leeds, the North West awards will take place on the 25th of June 2026 at the Kimpton Hotel in Manchester city centre, and the West Midlands at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham on the 2nd of July.
Last year sold out, so book early to secure your table.
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