Shock and sadness at death of much loved Leeds financier Chris Silverwood
Our weekly free round up of key deals and major moves in the Rainmakers world
Hello Rainmakers,
There is real sadness and shock this week however at the terrible news that Chris Silverwood, a prominent Yorkshire-based specialist in fundraising, administration and turnaround situations, has died.
Many personal tributes have been pouring in for Chris, who was a married father of five and founding partner of Harrogate-based independent corporate finance advisory boutique, CorpFin.
Posting on LinkedIn, Julian Kynaston, founder of brand consultancy, Propaganda, said: “It’s with immense sadness and absolute disbelief that I woke to the news that my friend, colleague, and all-round legend Chris Silverwood passed away yesterday.
Reacting to news of Silverwood’s death, Garry Wilson, managing partner of investor Endless LLP, said: “A tragic loss at such a young age and Yorkshire and the M&A community have lost a huge character.”
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The summer award season is over for us, and it’s been a great year for Clearwater, landing Rainmaker of the Year in both the North West and the West Midlands, and team of the year in Yorkshire, North West and the West Midlands.
Clearwater’s Joe Dyke was named Rainmaker of the Year as West Midlands’ corporate finance community gathered in Birmingham to celebrate the region’s best advisors and deals over the past year.
The awards remain peer-voted on a one-firm, one-vote basis, making them a genuine reflection of who the region’s corporate finance community rates most highly.
The other individual winners were Wilkes’ Rick Smyth, who was named Changemaker of the Year, and Evolve Corporate Finance’s Georgie Arthur who won Rising Star of the Year.
Joe Dyke said: “It’s been a great year. The team has done fantastically well, as you’ve seen tonight, we’ve been involved with some really cool deals with some great clients and great people. We’ve had some big news with investment through KeyBanc, which I think is a real vote for the region, A really big year, with lots still to come.”
TheBusinessDesk.com’s 2026 Rainmaker Awards were supported by headline partner Headpoint Advisors and Rainmakers’ principal partner Codurance. The category sponsors were Clarke Willmott, Datasite, Gilbanks, Hill Dickinson, K3 Capital Group, Knights, LHH, MFG Solicitors, React Cooling part of the Adroit Group, Rhino Interiors, and TheBusinessGrid.
Georgia Wright, the West Midlands editor of TheBusinessDesk.com, said: “It has been a great evening recognising the achievements of the past year, and lovely to see the community feel alongside the competition in each category.
“The Rainmakers community are genuinely invested in this region, they care about the businesses they back, the deals they build, and the community they’re part of.”
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An East Yorkshire pet food producer is spreading its wings by snapping up a well established small animal nutrition brand based in Germany. Burgess Pet Care, which is headquartered in Goole, has acquired Bunny Nature. The deal will make a serious impact on the buyer’s overseas trade, with Burgess Pet Care noting it will boost its international revenues five-fold to £12.5m. The acquisition represents Burgess’s largest international deal so far.
It follows its purchase of natural dog food brand Green Pantry and investment in fresh dog food subscription business Tuggs. Founded in 1988, Bunny Nature has a distribution network spanning the EU, North America and Asia. Its impressive footprint provides Burgess with immediate access to a broader customer base and supports its ongoing strategy to scale its presence worldwide.
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Thriving Brands combs through SLG’s Gen Z haircare offer
US acquisition platform Thriving Brands has snapped up COLAB Dry Shampoo and Johnny’s Chop Shop from Cheltenham-based SLG Brands, adding two proven Gen Z haircare and grooming brands to its portfolio.
Both brands are stocked by major retailers including Tesco, Boots, Target and Walmart across the UK and US. SLG, backed by BGF, built them into international brands from scratch – a foundation Thriving Brands (also owner of Right Guard deodorant) reckons is worth scaling.
Craig Cappozzo, chief executive of Thriving Brands, said the brands “win on shelf because they were built with genuine consumer insight and cultural relevance”.
He added: “Our job is to protect what makes them work and scale what makes them grow.”
SLG’s chief executive Lucy Beresford was more enigmatic, saying the sale “frees SLG to focus on what comes next”.
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Leep Group has taken another leap in its growth strategy with the acquisition of Staffordshire-based vocational training provider E.Quality Training.
Backed by Palatine’s Impact Fund, the Manchester-based business is stepping into the 16–19 education market for the first time, giving its employability arm a fresh boost at a time when youth skills are firmly in the spotlight.
E.Quality, which delivers Department for Education-funded courses in childcare, health and social care, and beauty, operates from centres in Hanley, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stafford. The business will be folded into Leep’s Back 2 Work division following a transition period.
With more than one million 16-24-year-olds across the UK currently classed as not in education, employment or training (NEET), the deal lands in a sector facing growing demand and growing urgency.
Founded in 1999, E.Quality employs around 30 staff, including 18 tutors. The acquisition marks Leep’s fourth deal since 2020, taking group revenues to around £33m and headcount to roughly 470.
Luke Muscat, co-founder and CEO of Leep Group said: “The E.Quality Training team are doing critically important work helping young people who have disengaged from education and have yet to enter employment build their skills and confidence. Often these young people are hard to help and hard to reach.”
James Gregson, impact fund partner at Palatine said: “This is another attractive and complementary strategic bolt-on for Leep, which not only increases its regional presence in the Midlands but also brings expertise and understanding of the age 16-19 training market, where we see significant growth potential.”
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Harrowden has put down fresh roots with the acquisition of George Davies Turf & Stone, in a deal that creates a combined business turning over close to £20m.
The Northamptonshire-based turf supplier, headquartered in Islip near Kettering, has bought the Olney landscaping business following a long-standing commercial relationship between the two firms.
Founded in 2001, George Davies Turf & Stone supplies more than 3,250 trade customers and rolls out around 1.4 million turf rolls each year - no small patch of the market.
The enlarged group will employ more than 130 people and operate from seven sites across the UK, giving Harrowden a broader footprint as it targets further growth.
Chantall Ridd-Jones, director at Harrowden said: “We’ve admired what George and his team have built for a long time. George Davies Turf & Stone has an excellent reputation within the industry for the way it looks after its customers and the relationships it has built over the last 25 years.”
George Davies will remain in the business as part of the senior leadership team for at least the next three years, helping ensure the transition stays on solid ground.
He said: “After 25 years of building George Davies Turf & Stone, this was one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
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In March this year DSW Capital, the AIM listed owner of advisory network Dow Schofield Watts issued a profit warning and reiterated its reliance on a lumpy M&A market wasn’t helpful in planning a business.
CEO Shru Morris said her strategic aim was to build a resilient and diversified group of licensee businesses.”
Hey presto - this week they acquired Integer Advisory, a Manchester-based specialist public sector advisory business, for £360,000 as part of that ambition.
As part of DSW’s wider business advisory group, DSW Business Planning’s six-strong team has built a reputation for providing private and public sector clients with financial modelling and data analysis services alongside financial and commercial advice on infrastructure projects and public sector investment.
Ellen Little, Partner at DSW Integer, formerly DSW Business Planning, said: “Rooted in this work is our personalised, partner-led approach, ensuring organisations can navigate through complex planning and delivery challenges.”
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Having now completed the Rainmaker events in the West Midlands, North West and Yorkshire, 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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