Hello Rainmakers,
It was a big night for LDC at Nottingham’s Crowne Plaza last night where the private equity investor scooped SIX awards at the East Midlands Rainmaker of the Year Awards.
David Bains won Rainmaker of the Year, while LDC also triumphed in the VC/Private Equity Team of the Year, Out of Region Deal of the Year, Small Deal of the Year, Medium Deal of the Year and Large Deal of the Year categories in front of an audience of 300 rowdy and enthusiastc fellow Rainmakers.
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.
Event delivery business 21CC has acquired drone display company SkyShows as part of a major £2.1m investment programme planned over the next 18 months.
The capital should see SkyShows’ fleet quadruple in size, making it Scotland’s largest drone display operator. The deal will integrate drone displays into 21CC’s range of services, spanning creative design, technical production, audio visual, lighting, sound, projection, lasers and pyrotechnics.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh-based residential property manager Umega has acquired Easylets, a Dundee-based lettings and property management platform.
The addition of Easylets brings almost 1,000 more properties to the group, taking the combined platform to more than 3,500 properties under management and establishing the business as the second-largest residential lettings operator in Scotland.
Easylets’ founder Jack Reavley retains a shareholding and will continue to lead growth in Dundee, with the brand also retained.
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Chorley-based utilities business, Ipsum Group, has acquired Chester’s B&S Group.
It follows Ipsum’s move last month to expand its drainage and wastewater capabilities with the acquisition of Draintech Services (Midlands).
The latest strategic transaction further strengthens Ipsum’s Power division, significantly expanding its capabilities in custom electrical engineering, specialist in-house manufacturing, and nationwide power infrastructure solutions.
B&S Group brings more than 30 years of asset engineering experience in the design, manufacture, and installation of bespoke electrical equipment and integrated power processes.
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An East Midlands engineering consultancy has put its money where its workforce is, transferring ownership of the business to its 50 employees.
BSP Consulting, which has offices in Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, has completed the move to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), keeping the business independent and putting staff firmly in the driving seat.
Under the arrangement, a trust will hold the company’s shares on behalf of current and future employees. The existing board and senior management team will continue to steer day-to-day operations, while employee representatives will oversee the trust and protect the workforce’s long-term interests.
Managing director Carl Hilton said: “This is an important milestone in the history of BSP Consulting and one that we believe provides an exciting opportunity for everyone within the business.
“We have an incredibly talented group of people working at BSP, graduates and apprentices at the beginning of their careers to people who have developed their engineering careers through the business over many years.
“We have people with enormous technical experience alongside people who bring fresh ideas and different perspectives. This combination is what gives us our strength.”
Hilton said employee ownership would help the consultancy build on its established reputation while giving staff a greater stake in its success.
He added: “Employee ownership gives our staff a greater stake in the future success of BSP and reinforces the values, independence and long-term approach that have helped shape the company.
“We can all legitimately describe ourselves as owners of the business and that means we all have a genuine stake in the future success of BSP.
“BSP has been around for a long time and we’ve built a very good business with excellent clients, a strong reputation, talented people and we have a really exciting future ahead of us. Employee ownership gives us the opportunity to build on all of that.”
The move gives BSP’s 50 employees a direct stake in the business they help build, putting the consultancy’s future firmly in the hands of the people behind its success.::
Amidst ongoing alarm over children’s exposure to everything unpleasant online, a pair of businesses have now joined forces in the fight to protect vulnerable school pupils. Leeds-based Smoothwall, a safeguarding technology provider in UK education, has acquired Securus Software, which has been providing digital monitoring solutions for schools since 2002. Smoothwall protects pupils through its real-time content aware Filter and fully moderated Smoothwall Monitor service, along with other solutions. Securus also provides a fully managed monitoring service to schools across the UK and internationally.
Combining the two organisations’ monitoring expertise is designed to strengthen safeguarding provision for schools. Gavin Logan, executive vice president for Smoothwall in the UK and across Europe, noted that Securus is one of the longest-serving online safety providers in UK education. He said its capabilities would help advance Smoothwall’s mission to support schools in identifying online threats as early as possible.
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Coventry drinks supplier Baby Bottles has found itself a new home after being snapped up by North West-based Bartons Group in a deal that brings the buyer into the Midlands for the first time.
Founded in 1986, Baby Bottles supplies alcoholic drinks, snacks and bar essentials to pubs, bars and hospitality businesses across the region. Its brand partners include Molson Coors, Heineken, AB InBev, Carlsberg, Britvic and Asahi.
The acquisition marks Bartons Group’s first deal as it looks to extend its reach beyond the North West, where the family-run business supplies beer, wine, spirits, soft drinks and bar supplies to hospitality venues.
Baby Bottles managing director Sam Wright will remain at the helm following the takeover.
He said: “Becoming part of the Barton Group gives us the confidence and support to build on what we have already achieved, while retaining the identity and personal approach that make Baby Bottles special.”
For Bartons, the deal is a first round of expansion – and a chance to put fresh Midlands connections on the menu.
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ADP drills deeper with Geotron UK as family firms join forces
Two family-owned ground investigation firms are becoming one. ADP Group, the Gloucestershire-based drilling contractor, has bought Geotron UK, a specialist in geo-environmental site investigation, giving it a foothold in the North West alongside its South West base.
The combined group will run a larger fleet of rigs and plant and offer clients a national service across construction, infrastructure and environmental work.
Geotron’s managing director, Dr Sarah van Enk, said: “We have spent almost two and a half decades building a business grounded in technical excellence, integrity and long-standing client relationships, and it was essential to us that any buyer shared those values.”
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