Clearwater on a roll with Manchester treble
Our weekly free round up of key deals and major moves in the Rainmakers world
Hello Rainmakers,
It was the turn of the Manchester Rainmakers to turn out in force for their annual awards last night.
It was another very good night for Clearwater, with its founder Michael Reeves lifting the very first Lifetime Achievement Award just a couple of months since the firm he started over 24 years ago was sold to KeyBank.
The team won the National corporate finance team award and partner Ed Gale was named Rainmaker of the Year, following his colleague Michael Loudon who was crowned winner in 2025.
More of that below, but first, some deals of the week.
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, Foresight, Mercia, and LDC.
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Wood Mackenzie has acquired LandGate for an undisclosed sum.
The deal combines Wood Mackenzie’s power market forecasting and supply chain analytics with LandGate’s proprietary land and grid intelligence.
Buying the Colorado-based company’s 150 million parcel-level, land intelligence dataset should strengthen the Edinburgh-headquartered energy analytics group’s market position.
Also in Scotland this week, mid-market law firm Lindsays and Dallas McMillian announced a merger.
The deal, which will take effect at the start of September, will see Dallas McMillan partners and staff transfer over, increasing the size of Lindsays’ Glasgow-based team from 80 to 123.
They will operate from the firm’s Queen Street office in the city centre and no job losses are anticipated.
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Mattioli Woods has acquired West Midlands adviser KRD Financial Advisers in a deal covering more than £400m of client assets - another step in its Retiring Adviser programme, which basically helps advisers “plan their exit without the exit drama.”
Founded in 2005 by Kevin Bissell, KRD has spent two decades building trusted relationships with over 1,000 households across the West Midlands and will now join the Mattioli Woods network.
CEO Peter Mann said KRD was exactly the type of firm the programme was designed for, while founder Kevin Bissell said the deal came down to shared values and a focus on long-term client relationships.
In short: one firm clocks off, the other clocks in - and Mattioli Woods keeps quietly adding to its advisory collection one retirement at a time.
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SEGRO has firmly swatted away a £12.6bn takeover approach from US rival Prologis, saying the bid simply doesn’t stack up - or as they might put it, the offer was “a bit short on square footage.”
Valued at 925p per share, the proposal was unanimously rejected by SEGRO’s board, who made it clear they’re not for sale at a discount rate - especially not in a warehouse worth of opportunity.
SEGRO called the timing “opportunistic,” suggesting Prologis tried to pick them up on the cheap while UK property valuations are still under pressure.
The company also pointed to strong demand, a healthy development pipeline and its growing data centre footprint - basically saying: “we’re not just storing value, we’re building it.”
Prologis may have tried to move in for the deal, but SEGRO has left it firmly at the loading bay and looks more interested in shipping long-term growth than shipping itself out the door.
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Hercules is refinancing to pay the maximum £4m earn-out on its Advantage NRG acquisition, a sign that the deal is hitting performance targets one year on..
The acquisition was structured as a £10.2m upfront payment, a deferred payment of around £1.5m, and an earn-out that could bring the total consideration to £15.7m
The Gloucestershire labour supplier has secured a £25m funding package from IGF Business Credit, with £4m of term loans specifically reserved for the final earn-out payment to Advantage NRG’s former owners.
Paying out an earn-out is usually a sign that things are going great. But Hercules’ chief executive Brusk Korkmaz couldn’t manage a celebratory tone, and limited himself to saying “the term loans enable us to meet our obligations relating to the Advantage NRG acquisition”.
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Michael Reeves, one of the founders of Clearwater, scooped the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the TheBusinessDesk.com’s North West BIGGEST EVER Rainmaker Awards tonight (25 June 2026).
Accepting the award Reeves said he was totally taken by surprise at the accolade.
Reflecting on his career highlights, he said: “We have a team of very bright, intelligent people who always have respect for our clients, respect for our business, and respect our community.”
Elsewhere, in a triple coup for the firm, which was recently bought by US investment bank Key, Ed Gale was named Rainmaker of the Year. He said: “We’re genuinely excited about the future, which should give us a lot of opportunity to get more and more access to the team around the US, to spread their insights and genuinely looking forward. People are excited about the work we can do in the US as well, so I think that’s just hopefully a really good opportunity for us. ”
Changemaker of the Year went to Helen Spence at EY and the Rising Star award went to Rhys Davenport from BGF.
The winners were chosen by a peer vote, after a shortlist was drawn up by around 60 judges from across the region’s corporate finance community gathered in Manchester who reviewed deals from the past 12 months and identified the most prolific teams and individuals who have made the greatest impact.
TheBusinessDesk.com North West editor Michael Taylor said: “It was a hot night, but host Justin Moorhouse kept the event going really well. Everyone had a great time celebrating the very best of the Rainmaker community in the region. There was also a lovely reponse to the tributes we shared about those we have lost this year: Abi Godfrey, Andy Thomas, Mark Fuller and Jen Bellamy.
“We really value the close relationships and trust that we’ve built up, that enable us to do the events and provide the very best coverage for this fascinating world.
“The awards were a centrepiece though, a real celebration of everyone’s hard work in supporting the businesses of our regions to be bigger, bolder and braver.”
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The 2026 Rainmaker Awards
The 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 have landed, 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.
Tthe West Midlands awards are at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham on the 2nd of July.
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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