Tidy exit for LDC from ecommerce powerhouse
Our weekly free round up of key deals and major moves in the Rainmakers world
Hello Rainmakers,
The Budget has dominated our inboxes and probably yours this week. But deals have continued to be completed right across the country.
This week’s round up has private equity exits, Begbies expanding their property business and a fishy deal off the South West coast.
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This is free to all who have signed up, however Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, 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 like Endless, and River Capital, Foresight, Mercia, Puma and LDC.
LDC has waved goodbye to J&J Global Fulfilment, selling the Northampton-based eCommerce powerhouse to Dutch outfit QLS after five years of growth.
During the partnership, J&J really stepped up its game, shipping across seven sites in the UK, Europe, Australia, and North America, boosting revenues by 415% and increasing annual orders from 2.1m to 8.5m.
Employee numbers went from 120 to 470, proving that growth isn’t just about boxes, it’s about people too.
Emma Dempsey, CEO of J&J, said: “From the very beginning, LDC understood our business, appreciated our culture, and backed us while giving us the confidence, resources and freedom to run the company our way. We are now perfectly positioned to seize new opportunities within QLS. Our proprietary technology platform remains a real differentiator in our market and will enable us to support more businesses with global ambitions, all while remaining focused on the world-class service that our clients have come to expect.”
From a five-year growth sprint to a global handover, it looks like J&J is all set to keep the momentum rolling under QLS.
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IMI has decided it’s time for Truflo Marine to drop anchor elsewhere, striking a £225m deal to hand the Birmingham-based valves and actuators specialist over to U.S. operator Fairbanks Morse Defense.
It’s a move that shows even engineering giants like to streamline operations from time to time.
The sale still needs regulatory approval, with completion expected in mid-2026.
Roy Twite, chief executive officer of IMI said: “This further aligns IMI to the three powerful megatrends we are focused on - energy, automation and healthcare. These megatrends will underpin the delivery of sustainable growth in the years to come.”
For Fairbanks Morse Defense, it’s another notch on the propeller, following quickly after its scoop of Rolls-Royce’s Naval Propulsors business.
Proof, perhaps, that in the naval engineering world, there’s always another big move just below the surface.
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This week Rainmakers subscribers will have been treated to three great pieces. Yesterday, on the scrapping of tax relief on the sale to Employee Owned Trusts, and on Tuesday a debut from our newest recruit Peter Walker, and the return of the Secret Investor.
It was our hot take on the Budget from the editor, joining all the other hot takes from everyone else with a LinkedIn account and a fondness for punishing people on benefits, as well as the exemplary on the day coverage from the team at TheBusinessDesk.com.
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Leeds-headquartered property consultancy, Eddisons, part of Begbies Traynor Group PLC, has slammed down the gavel on a deal to strengthen its auctions division. It has acquired Network Auctions, a London-based firm established in 2005 which sells residential and commercial properties across the UK via monthly auctions. Network Auctions will integrate with Eddisons’ existing auction business, which includes Pugh & Co, SDL Property Auctions and Mark Jenkinson.
The next day it told the markets (Begbies is listed) that it had bought Kirkby Diamond for up to £8.25m in total. Kirkby Diamond has offices in Milton Keynes, Bedford, Luton, St Albans, and Enfield, and employs 62 staff, in its financial year ended 31 January 2025, it generated revenue of £6.2m and had normalised pre-tax profits of £1.1m.
Since Begbies bought Eddisons in December 2014, it has grown by acquisition to £50m turnover.
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There was a time when Alan Ryder’s RSK, the Cheshire-based sustainable solutions group, seemed to do a deal a month, at least. It’s been quiet recently, but this week it significantly strengthened its presence in the UK transport infrastructure sector with the acquisition of Octavius Infrastructure from Sullivan Street Partners.
Reigate-based Octavius is one of the UK’s leading civil engineering and electrification transport infrastructure businesses, with more than 700 staff working across rail and highways.
The business has long standing relationships with key customers in the sector such as Network Rail, National Highways, and Transport for London, and has a rich portfolio of more than 30 frameworks.
These include a presence in every Network Rail region in England and Wales, including the industry-leading Southern Renewals Enterprise for Electrification and Plant as well as frameworks with National Highways, the M25 Lifecycle and Call-off Framework Agreement (COFA) for Connect Plus and places on local and regional authority transport frameworks nationwide.
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Dundee-headquartered digital project consultancy Waracle has acquired Bulgarian software development firm HackSoft, expanding its geographic footprint beyond the UK for the first time.
The deal also bolsters its expertise in digital product development across financial services, energy, health and the public sector, with Hacksoft’s specialisms in product, web development and data services. The Sofia-based business first opened its doors 2017 and now has a team of 55 people.
Waracle is backed by BGF and during 2025 it has grown to 210 staff across offices in Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London.
Chief executive David Tuck said: “We worked with Hacksoft for several months on a strategic client engagement, so we know first-hand our cultures align – we share similar values based on fostering a strong, inclusive culture and are both committed to being a trusted partner for our clients.”
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Fortuna has made quite a splash by acquiring Cornwall’s Ocean Fish Group, marking the Falklands fishing giant’s first foray into UK waters.
The deal brings together two vertically integrated operations with Ocean Fish’s established UK and European networks combining with Fortuna’s Falklands quota holdings in squid, finfish and Patagonian Toothfish, plus newly secured lobster rights around Tristan da Cunha.
CEO Leigh Genge will stay at the helm to steer the combined business toward a £100m revenue target by 2030.
It’s not quite “so long, and thanks for all the fish” for the Lakeman family, who’ve been hauling nets in Cornwall for generations, as they will remain invested as minority shareholders.
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