'If this was the glamour of an English pub, it was horrible'
Ted Hughes's Stubbing Wharfe offers little hope for a sector in desperate need of cheer
December is the time of year when the hospitality sector is known to give the corporate finance sector a bad headache or two.
But that traditionally comes from individuals overindulging, not from customers underindulging.
Everyone has their own examples of closures. Only yesterday the landlords at my local pub rang last orders. It is unremarkable except for being the site of a Ted Hughes poem about a miserable winter’s night in the pub with a weeping Sylvia Plath.
Ultimately Stubbing Wharfe ends with a glimmer of optimism, as “the future seemed to ease open a fraction”*.
Landlords - and restaurateurs, suppliers and investors - who would all be forgiven for having a glass-half-empty approach, are desperate for something to cheer.
The travails at Black Sheep and Purity owner Keystone Brewing do not offer much hope. The group, backed by Breal Capital shareholders, have filed notices of intention to appoint administrators to six group companies over the last week.
A strategy of buying failing regional breweries out of administration has, by its third year, created a cocktail of problems.
We await news while Keystone insist it is still business as usual. Perhaps, but it seems all-but inevitable that investors are going to wake up in the morning with a massive hangover.
(*Unfortunately the Hughes/Plath analogy snuffs out any flickering optimism. Their evening looking out to the “sodden dreariness of the whole valley” was a relative high point in a life story that ended very badly).
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North West deals this week favoured an international flavour, with North and South American expansion for two of the region’s business groups.
Fevara, the Carlisle-based international specialist in livestock supplements which changed its name from Carr’s Group in October, has entered the Brazilian market with a deal to acquire Domino Industrial E Comercio, trading as Macal.
The initial consideration will be £5m, with up to £1.9m of deferred consideration payable in March 2028, subject to business performance.
The focus shifted to North America for Manchester-based online holiday provider, Travel Counsellors, which acquired The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND), in Canada, for an undisclosed sum.
Travel Counsellors says the deal creates a transatlantic leader in the travel operator market and marks a significant milestone in the company’s international expansion strategy.
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Cooper Parry has hit install update on its digital strategy by acquiring London tech consultancy Embracent.
The deal gives CP’s digital division a noticeable power boost, pushing its pro forma turnover past £250m as it works toward a £600m target by 2028.
Embracent, founded in 2015 and specialising in digital transformation, AI and data strategy, will plug straight into Cooper Parry Digital, sitting alongside its Salesforce, Oracle NetSuite, cyber and data analytics teams.
Both firms say the fit was natural, with shared values and a mutual focus on delivering real-world results. Think less forced merge, more seamless integration.
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Hot on the acquisition trail, accounting firm bk plus has swooped for Birmingham-based MDP, marking a significant milestone in bk plus’s ongoing national expansion.
The move sees Walsall-founded bk plus returning to its roots as it now has its first city centre office in the Midlands. This year, the firm has completed a series of acquisitions across Scotland, Yorkshire, the North West, and the South West, that has grown the group to 35 offices and more than 700 staff.
This latest acquisition is set to help bk plus cement its brand in the heart of Birmingham’s corporate accounting SME environment. MDP’s 50-strong team will continue operating from their current city centre office, now backed by the resources and sector expertise of the national bk plus network.
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Leeds’s burgeoning financial services sector has caught the eye of yet another global player, with US-based insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, Arthur J Gallagher & Co, swooping for an established Leeds-headquartered actuarial business. It has acquired First Actuarial, which has been on the scene for 21 years and in 2024 reported a turnover of more than £38m and a staff headcount of at least 400.
The First Actuarial team, led by David Joy, will remain in its current locations under the guidance of David Piltz, head of Gallagher’s UK Benefits and HR Consulting Division. The acquired firm provides pension administration, employee benefits, consultancy and investment services to employers and pension plan trustees throughout the UK. Arthur J Gallagher & Co is headquartered in Illinois and now provides services in approximately 130 countries around the world.
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London-headquartered insurance intermediary Clear Group has made its first move into Scotland with the acquisition of Kirkcaldy-based commercial broker Cairn Corporate.
Founded by Robert Young, Cairn Corporate has annual income approaching £1m and a team of eight, under the leadership of managing director Andrew Watson since 2020.
“Joining Clear is a great outcome for our clients and our team, it ensures continuity, stability and access to the scale and resources of a larger group, while maintaining the personal service we are known for,” commented Watson. “We see this as the best platform to grow our presence in Scotland and are excited about the opportunities ahead.”
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