Tech tinkerer marches on London
Our weekly free round up of key deals and major moves in the Rainmakers world
Hello Rainmakers,
The unhelpful pre-Budget speculation over which taxes will be raised doesn’t seemed to have sparked a panic sell-off frenzy, but it does seem to have cast a dark cloud over business confidence.
Certain sectors have their own travails, not least pharmacies.
Three cheers then for tech business Barron McCann…
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Derby’s tech tinkerer Barron McCann has marched into London and come away with a majority stake in Retail247 – the software outfit trusted by the likes of Reiss, Crew Clothing and Mint Velvet to keep tills ringing and stockrooms sane.
The deal, wrapped up debt-free (because who doesn’t love a bargain?), hands Barron McCann the keys to a fast-growing, brainy retail platform and neatly boosts its credentials as a go-to fixer of all things tech across shops, schools and anywhere else a touchscreen might panic.
It’s a bit like adopting a prodigy: Retail247 brings the smarts, Barron McCann brings the toolkit, and together they’ll presumably try to stop the nation’s retail systems from having any more “unexpected item in bagging area” moments.
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Allied Pharmacies has taken over 60 Jhoots branches following the collapse of part of the pharmacy chain into administration.
The St Helens-headquartered business said most of the sites are temporarily closed but it is committed to reinstating essential pharmacy services.
More than 150 pharmacies traded under the Jhoots brand, although it has a complicated ownership structure with different parts of the chain operating independently.
The businesses had faced weeks of escalating concern over unpaid wages, with the Pharmacists’ Defence Association highlighting more than £870,000 in outstanding locum fees. A range of criticisms were raised in Parliament last month, at Prime Minister’s Questions and at a separate session when Care Minister Stephen Kinnock acknowledged “the services provided by Jhoots are falling well below the mark”.
The takeover follows 22 Jhoots-linked businesses entering administration last week, all controlled by director Nilam Patel.
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ARC Building Solutions (ARC), a provider of passive fire protection and thermal solutions for the built environment, has secured “significant” investment from LDC, a private equity firm which is part of Lloyds Banking Group.
Based in Leeds, ARC was founded in 2008 and makes certified and tested cavity barriers, offering up to four hours of fire integrity, alongside thermal insulation products that support fire safety and energy efficiency.
Its technical system solutions enable residential and commercial property developers to create safer, more sustainable spaces for people to live and work.
LDC is backing ARC’s management team, led by CEO Neil Weeks, and will support the business’ growth strategy, underpinned by investment in increased production capacity, enhanced systems and sales and support teams.
The investment was led by LDC’s Yorkshire team, including investment director, Will Scales, partner and head of Yorkshire, Dan Smith, and investment executive, Connie Smith.
Will Scales and Dan Smith will join ARC’s board as non-executive directors, alongside Kevin Sargeant who joins as non-executive chair.
Sargeant brings nearly 30 years of board experience, including former roles at Volution, Ventilair Group, Nuaire, Flexicon and Aqualisa.
Newable, the specialist UK SME investor which has supported the growth of the business since 2019, will reinvest alongside LDC.
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LDC-backed The Pace Group, which maintains and repairs elevators, service lifts and stairlifts has bought Gateshead-based Exel Elevator and Kent-based The Lift Company & DJ Lifts into the group.
It now maintains around 13,000 units and services around 5,000 customers nationwide.
Since LDC’s investment in July 2024, The Pace Group has now made ten complementary acquisitions. In September 2024, it announced the acquisitions of Metro Lifts, Elevate UK Lifts, Elevator Group, A1 Lifts, and Lift Control. And in April 2025, it announced three further acquisitions: Abacus Elevators, Total Lift Care and Bourne Lifts.
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The main lobby group for the private equity and venture capital industry has made the bold claim that businesses backed by private capital generate £15.7bn for the North West’s economy each year.
On the back of a new report, Private Capital in the North West, the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is calling for Mayoral Combined Authorities to prioritise the removal of barriers to growth and investment in their 10-year Local Growth Plans.
It also wants the UK visa system to be streamlined and modernised to introduce a more efficient, user-friendly process for high-skilled visa routes such as the Global Talent, Innovator Founder, and High Potential Individual (HPI) visas.
The report is intended to bang the drum for private capital to have a seat at the table in economic policy making for the nations and regions of the United Kingdom, a theme explored at the first two Rainmakers summits, which returns in March 2026.
The BVCA’s research claims that in 2024 alone, private capital invested £2.3bn into businesses in the North West.
Further, it estimates that as of 2025, private equity and venture capital firms support 873 businesses across the North West, up from 755 in 2023. It says that these businesses are significant employers, supporting around 247,000 jobs - a 31% increase compared with 2023.
The report highlights that university spinouts are increasingly driving regional growth and attracting venture capital investments. The University of Manchester, University of Liverpool and Lancaster University sit within the top 30 for producing spinouts in the UK and according to data from Beauhurst, the region saw 224 spinouts headquartered in the region since 2011, with £852m invested.
Commenting, BVCA Chief Executive Michael Moore said: “The North West is an exciting destination for private capital, whose investment is supporting the development of 873 businesses in an important region of the UK. These businesses bring real value to local communities through the 247,000 jobs they support.
“However, while there is much to celebrate about the scope and scale of investment in the region’s businesses, it could be even more substantial and close the gap with other parts of the country. Policymakers, regulators, and industry all have a role to play in helping to facilitate greater levels of investment in the nations and regions of the UK, to ensure that opportunities are not lost.”
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