Tidy deals and fake flowers in the heartlands
A flurry of deal activity from the industrial heartlands of our country this week
Hello Rainmakers,
This is your weekly freebie for browsers of Rainmakers.
A flurry of deal activity from the industrial heartlands of our country this week.
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In what’s probably the freshest acquisition news you’ll hear today, Tamworth-based entrepreneur Ben Herbert has snapped up The Faux Flower Company, a luxury retailer known for making fake flowers so real-looking you might do a double-take.
The business was founded 10 years ago by Janey Dillons in Hong Kong under the name Amaranthine Blooms.
It later moved to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, where it now handcrafts and hand-paints each bloom and bouquet for homes, businesses, and hotels that want their spaces to look blooming nice without any of the hassle.
The acquisition was helped along by Azets Corporate Finance and legal eagle Mark Wilcock at Flint Bishop.
Gary Hyem from Azets said: “Market demand for high-quality faux flowers has been increasing, with consumer preference for low-maintenance flowers for the home and for businesses, with highly realistic floral arrangements being able to be used for a long time.”
Ben Herbert, who’s no stranger to buying and selling businesses, sees plenty of room to grow the faux flower market in the UK.
He said: “The artificial flowers market globally continues to grow, with clear further development potential here in the UK. With our growth plans, The Faux Flower Company is well-positioned to supply even more discerning customers – corporate and individual – our flowers, plants and bouquets. They are so realistic, with botanical correctness, that it is hard not to resist smelling them. The added benefit is that they do not need replacing on a weekly basis but can be added to, creating new, fresh arrangements.”
So, no wilting worries here, just carefully crafted petals that don’t drop, droop, or demand a drink.
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Insurance broker JMG Group is celebrating its 50th acquisition since its 2020 management buyout.
Profile Insurance Services is the latest broker to join the Leeds-based group.
Founded in 1997 by managing director Melanie Burns, London-based Profile Insurance Services is a respected broker with a strong UK-wide client base.
Initially known for its niche expertise in placing cover for high-net-worth footballers, the firm has since grown into a trusted adviser to a broad range of commercial and personal clients. Its seven-strong team is known for high client retention and long- standing relationships.
Burns said: “It’s a ‘pinch me’ moment. Everything we have built, the energy we have put into the business, the values we’ve protected, the relationships we have nurtured, have brought us to this point.
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The regulatory release about the deal for a Liverpool-founded biotech firm, LCC Therapeutics by the acquiring business XtalPi Holdings, a publicly listed Chinese biotechnology company, was released to the Hong Kong stock exchange and from the US headquarters in Massachusetts.
Unlike regulatory market announcements in the UK, they can leave a great deal out of the public domain.
Notably, the status of the venture investors who had backed the business this far and how much the business was acquired for.
We spotted through legal filings that the business had in fact been bought out of administration, saving 15 jobs at the firm’s Runcorn headquarters, which is good news for them.
What hadn’t been reported in the notice was that Andrew Poxon and Hilary Pascoe of Leonard Curtis had been appointed Joint Administrators of LCC Therapeutics on June 10, 2025 and following the extensive marketing of the company for sale, had conducted a “going concern sale” of the business and assets of the company completed to a company called LCC Technologies, “shortly following” their appointment.
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This week DSW Capital released the first set of results since Shru Morris took over as CEO, stepping into the big shoes of founder James Dow.
The headline numbers are that DSW says it has successfully reduced its dependency on lumpy fees from advising on deals as income from its legal business lifted revenues and profits.
The Daresbury-headquartered firm posted revenues of £4.8m and pre-tax profits of £1.3m in the year to 2025, the first results overseen by newly appointed CEO Shru Morris.
The business enjoyed “exceptional levels” of M&A activity which generated c.£3.0m of supernormal network revenue in October 2024, with M&A activity levels returning to more normal levels post the Autumn Budget through to the year end.
The DSW network, of which DSW Capital owns the brands, saw revenue increase by 62% to £25.8m (2024: £16m).
The £6.3m purchase of DR Solicitors has brought a “highly scalable, cash generative and profitable legal platform” to the group.
In this context it’s a reminder why Morris seemed quite chilled when she gave an in-depth interview to us as those results were being prepared.
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Svella is a business worth keeping an eye on and it looks like its driving force, Andrew Tinkler, the one-time Stobart CEO, is back in the game.
In the last week it has done two deals. First off, Carlisle-based Cubby Construction Limited was snapped up as part of a £12m investment which has secured the future growth of the company, which showed worrying signs of distress when it was overdue filing accounts.
The £24m turnover group was established in 1968, but it was forced to withdraw from a problematic Galliford Try Carlisle Southern Link Road project late last year, leaving it with liquidity problems.
Moving modes from road to rail it also bought Emeg Group, through its subsidiary, Avidrail.
Emeg is a Chesterfield-based business specialising in delivering rail depot and facilities solutions and M&E engineering services since 1997.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, secures a business-as-usual approach for Emeg Group, with Svella saying it is looking forward to supporting employees, customers and suppliers to unlock the potential within the business and deliver a strategy of long term, collaborative and sustainable growth.
Tinkler, Svella chairman said: “Svella’s successful strategy is based on providing hands on investment and supporting the management team to unlock the growth potential in the business, helping deliver operational improvement and value for all stakeholders.”
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Heanor-based energy firm The Wilmott Group has entered into what’s being described as a “tentative agreement” to be acquired by American voltage heavyweight Rehlko, formerly known as Kohler Energy.
It’s a merger that could electrify the power solutions market, provided no one trips over the extension lead before contracts are signed.
The deal would see Wilmott plugged into Rehlko’s EMEA operations, with the potential to supercharge support for over 4,000 UK sites and 19 locations.
The UK firm, founded in 1983, posted a £147.6m turnover last year, up 35.3%, which may explain why it caught the eye of the transatlantic power giant.
Andy Wilmott, co-CEO and chairman, said the merger marked a “pivotal moment” for the business.
He added that Rehlko shared Wilmott’s “deep-rooted commitment to long-term customer value.”
This deal could have a big impact on the energy sector. As demand grows for reliable power in places like data centres and hospitals, where outages just aren’t an option, combining the strengths of the UK and US companies could make a real difference.
Still, the deal is still at the tentative stage, so please don't throw the celebration confetti in the generator intake just yet.
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Activate Group, an accident management services provider backed by private equity firm Elysian Capital, has acquired collision repair specialist Avant Group.
Halifax-based Activate provides accident management services to insurance groups and corporate fleet operators through its MRN and Sopp+Sopp brands, undertaking the vehicle repairs either in house through its own network of repair centres or externally through its network of third-party repair centres.
Elysian Capital is supporting management in their expansion of the group through both organic and acquisitive growth.
Huddersfield-based Avant is a well-established collision repair specialist known for its manufacturer programme expertise, bodyshop management technology and repair network. As part of the deal Activate Group has acquired Avant Group’s three key brands: Avant Consult, Avant Repair Network and Bodynet.
Avant’s leadership team will remain in place. Mark Johnstone will continue to head up the business, joining the Activate group executive team as managing director of AvantGroup.
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Rainmaker Awards return to the East Midlands.
We're bringing the Rainmaker Awards back to the East Midlands after a hugely successful first year in 2024.
Like our other regions, this year we are asking firms to submit a short entry for some categories to ensure our judges have the full information when making their selections. Please submit your entries by Friday 25 July.
Head to rainmakerawards.uk to submit.
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