Leisure and property assets under the hammer
Others deals around the UK, and a nice bit of recognition for our journalism...
Hello Rainmakers,
Who knows what further benefits will be accrued from the US trade deal, but the interest in sectors like professional services, software, property, leisure and environmental services can’t be hurt by a bit more certainty around tariffs and therefore pricing.
This is your weekly freebie for browsers of the Rainmakers, with insights from around the country by our team of reporters in each region.
Paid subscribers have this week had an insight into M&A in the food sector and a missive from our very own Secret Investor.
The week before they were treated to a fantastic profile interview with Endless founder Garry Wilson.
Rainmakers subscribers usually get two unique pieces a week (when it isn’t Easter) but 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 the likes of Endless, River Capital, Foresight, Mercia, Puma and LDC. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber, or sign up for a free trial...
A chunky acquisition to round off the week has seen real estate investment trust, LondonMetric, confirm it will snap up Leeds-headquartered Urban Logistics REIT, in a deal valued at £698.9m.
LondonMetric has said this will mean the creation of a £7.3bn property portfolio focused on logistics, convenience, healthcare, entertainment and leisure.
Every week we hear about continued strong demand for good quality, well located commercial properties in Yorkshire and Humber and LondonMetric says its latest takeover will deliver "substantial synergies, cost savings and accelerated earnings growth."
It is well in line with the business's strategy of acquisitive growth, as it has been an active consolidator in the UK listed real estate market.
With Warehouse REIT under offer, and KKR swooping for healthcare property asset manager Assura, there’s clearly a rising appetite for UK real estate assets that we will be keeping a beady eye on.
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Golf & Leisure Group has just teed up a big move, acquiring the 3 Hammers Golf Complex in Wolverhampton.
It marks their second major drive after scooping up the Bristol Golf Centre in 2020.
And they’re not just sitting in the clubhouse, after a £2m investment in upgrades at the Bristol site, they’re ready to swing the same approach at 3 Hammers.
Expect some fresh features, like upgraded practice facilities and interactive tech to enhance the golf experience.
And don't worry, 3 Hammers isn’t going anywhere; it’ll be business as usual, at least for now.
Looks like Golf & Leisure Group is ready to putt the competition behind them and take 3 Hammers to new heights.
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MHA, the freshly floated accountancy firm with offices in such disparate places as Preston, Leicester and Derby, is looking to cash in on international expansion with a £20.4m bid to acquire Baker Tilly South East Europe (BTSEE).
In the frantic world of professional services M&A who can honestly say they had that one on their radar?
With both firms already part of the Baker Tilly global network, MHA is now looking to formalise the relationship and take it to the next level.
BTSEE operates in Cyprus, Greece, and South East Europe, providing audit, tax, advisory, legal, and corporate services.
In Cyprus, it's the fifth-largest accountancy firm, with 13 Partners and around 400 employees.
For the year ending 31 December 2024, BTSEE reported £16.5m in sales and £2.1m in pre-tax profits.
The acquisition fits well into MHA’s strategy to strengthen its international reach and expand its financial footprint.
With offices already spread across the UK, from Leicester to London, the firm is now setting its sights on the sunny shores of South East Europe.
While the final details are still being worked out, one thing is clear: MHA isn’t just balancing the books; it’s growing its global presence and adding value on a bigger scale.
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Stockport headquartered environmental consultancy APEM has made its ninth acquisition and its third in Australia, as the private equity backed group cements its foothold down under and builds momentum.
The acquisition of AARC Environmental Solutions increases APEM Group’s headcount in Australia to over 275 employees at 11 locations and adds a new offering in rehabilitation capabilities to the Group’s expanding range of services.
Leah McGimpsey, APEM Group CEO, said: “As we evolve our platform for growth in Australia, I am delighted to welcome AARC Environmental Solutions, one of Australia’s leading providers of environmental and rehabilitation services to the resources industry, into APEM Group.
“Our Australian business has already gone from strength to strength in 2024. Adding AARC to the Group further enhances our business in Australia and expands our ability to support clients across the Asia Pacific region.
“Bringing more specialist experts into the Group, in combination with Biosis, Attexo and our Offshore Environment Team, means we now have over 275 colleagues on the ground in Australia, collaborating to deliver a wide variety of projects and showcasing the combined Group offering available to our clients.
“With a technically diverse workforce throughout Australia, we are well placed to meet the growing demands of our clients across a wide variety of industries, bringing our unique perspectives and approach to projects critical for Australia’s future growth.”Established in Queensland in 1996 and now one of the country’s leading independent environmental consultancies AARC provides expert environmental advice to the resource industry, planning and development sectors and agribusiness.
WestBridge has supported an ambitious M&A growth strategy at APEM Group since backing an MBO in March 2019, and funding nine acquisitions, cementing its strategy of growth and international expansion.
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An exit and an investment for Palatine this week.
Palatine has successfully exited its investment in Suntera Global, an Isle of Man founded business, which provides corporate and private wealth services, generating a 2.7x return for investors.
US-based Valeas Capital Partners has bought Suntera, now based in Jersey, in a secondary buyout.
Since investing in Suntera in June 2019, Palatine has enjoyed a strong partnership with Suntera’s management team led by Chief Executive David Hudson, growing revenue to in excess of £70m, delivering strong organic growth, more than doubling the workforce to over 500 alongside significant geographic expansion and completing seven strategic acquisitions.
While the deal terms were not disclosed, TheBusinessDesk.com understands that the total transaction value was $500million (£375m) inclusive of the enterprise value, committed debt and equity to support future M&A and other growth initiatives.
Last month, (April 2025) Suntera, which describes itself as an “international provider of bespoke fund administration” completed a multi-million pound refinance of its debt facilities with global investment firm Carlyle’s global credit division.
Acquisitions included Carey Commercial, Nedgroup Trust and Helm Trust Company in the Channel Islands and New Jersey-based fund administration business Socium Fund Services, which provided Suntera its first foothold in the US.
In addition to M&A activity, Suntera has added new service offerings and opened new offices and employs 550 people in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Luxembourg, United Kingdom and the United States.
The company’s headquarters have also been relocated to Jersey, but with a strong administrative base remaining in the Isle of Man, where the business was founded.
Tom Wildig, Investment Director at Palatine, said: “Over the course of the investment period we have worked incredibly well with David and the other members of his exceptional leadership team.
“Seven acquisitions have been identified, negotiated and completed adding geographical scale to the business in line with our original strategy at investment.
“From being a very good business, primarily focused on private clients serviced from the Isle of Man, Suntera is now a great business – a global player offering an extensive range of bespoke services to private clients, corporates and funds.
“Private equity investment works best when there is a shared vision and ambition and we would never have achieved what we have without such a collaborative and close relationship with David and the team. We wish them all the best for the future as they move to the next phase of their growth journey alongside Valeas.”
David Hudson, CEO at Suntera said: “From the outset Palatine proved to be an outstanding investment partner, getting to know our business and buying-in to our vision and the opportunity to scale Suntera into a leading independent player in the market place.
“The support we’ve had, not only financial, has allowed us to invest in our people, systems and culture and enabled us to unleash our potential. We look forward to the future with confidence and further ambition.”
Separately, Palatine has this week acquired a majority stake in Atombit Group, a fast-growth pan-European leader in Experience Intelligence spanning customer and employee experience, data analytics and AI. Alongside the investment, London-based Atombit has made three strategic acquisitions to accelerate its growth, UK-based J2 Reliance and Profusion and Bulgaria-based company DWise. The enlarged group now comprises 150 skilled consultants and data scientists based in Europe and India, serving more than 100 large international enterprises.
Andy Strickland, Partner and Head of Tech Services at Palatine said the market today is polarised. “At one end, there are niche agencies offering fragmented, point-specific solutions. At the other, sprawling consultancies deliver scale but often lack agility, innovation, or a sharp focus on ROI.”
He said the onward strategy includes organic growth, cross-selling across the group’s existing client base, and pursuing further strategic M&A to extend capabilities, deepen expertise, and expand geographical presence. “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to help shape the future of a challenger brand with global ambition."
Following the investment he and Gary Tipper will be joining Atombit’s board. The Palatine investment team included Danielle Garland and Shiyu Pan.
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GC Business Finance and River Capital have provided more than £1.7m in support of SMEs in the first year of The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).
The funding comes from NPIF II-GC Business Finance & River Capital Smaller Loans, which is managed by the consortium as part of NPIF II.
Since the launch of the fund in April 2024, the consortium has supported 32 businesses across the North West and is currently managing a strong pipeline of applications under review.
As part of their role delivering NPIF II Smaller Loans up to £100,000, GC Business Finance and River Capital have played a key role in unlocking early stage growth capital for small and medium-sized businesses across the North West.
Given that NPIF II is sector-agnostic, this enables the consortium to support a wide variety of businesses, regardless of industry, showcasing the depth of innovation and ambition across the North.
So far, this has included Liverpool-based sustainable packaging distributor Green Bell Packaging, Cheshire-based online, high end homeware store Tilly and Ted, and Lancashire-based Kidz Pamper Bus.
Of the funding provided, 41% has gone to female-led businesses, highlighting a shared commitment across the fund to supporting under-represented entrepreneurs and improving access to finance for all.
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Finally, we have been highly commended for our efforts in bringing challenging news stories to you.
TheBusinessDesk.com has been “highly commended” in a prestigious awards for financial, economic and business journalism.
The Wincott Awards are best in class , covering personal finance, data journalism, news from the nations and regions, as well as audio and video.
North West editor Michael Taylor received the commendation from the chair of judges, Lionel Barber, the former editor of the Financial Times.
The award entry featured stories on TheBusinessDesk.com covering the silence from Inflexion-backed ANS Group over the actions of their former CEO, the convicted rapist Lawrence Jones; jail sentences awarded to Inc & Co directors, and its aftermath; and, Jo Sellick’s mental health challenges following the sale of his business, which first appeared on the premium Rainmakers platform.
Others commended and awarded on the day included Bloomberg, the FT, and Channel 4 News.
The Wincott Foundation received more than 150 entries for its 2024 awards with a host of podcasts, videos, data analysis and written submissions which the judges said “once again covered all the year’s biggest themes. Subjects ranged from Britain’s broken economy, benefits, housing, and council pension funds to Iran’s sanctions busting, anti-politics, the design of bottle caps, Gen Z and Meta data.”
The awards lunch was held at the Mansion House, City of London yesterday, 8 May 2025, and the guest speaker was TV personality and former politician Ed Balls.
He encouraged journalists to continually question and challenge their own assumptions about how the world appears.
Alex Turner, joint managing director of TheBusinessDesk.com said: "Michael's passion to delve into the detail to uncover the real business news stories that you won't find anywhere else will be clear to everyone who reads TheBusinessDesk.
"We're thrilled that his journalism - and the tenacity and skill that brings it to life - has also been endorsed by the Wincott Awards. It is a richly-deserved recognition."
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TheBusinessDesk.com’s Rainmaker Awards return this summer and will showcase a wider cross-section of the region’s deals community.
The hotly-contested regional corporate finance awards will continue to recognise teams, individuals and deals, and the shortlist and winners will be decided on by the community, as always.
This year we have asked all firms to submit a short entry, along with the key deals they have advised on, to ensure our judges have the full information when making their selections.
Shortlists have now been drawn up at well-attended judging days. These shortlists will now be voted on by a wider group of people from across the community, on a strict one vote per firm basis, to decide our 2025 winners.
For tickets for the event, please click here to secure your seat in the North West, Yorkshire, or the West Midlands.
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