One of private equity’s oldest recipes is to buy a platform for investments, then consolidate for an immediate uplift in the value of the acquisitions, says MarktoMarket’s Doug Lawson, and more and more firms are dining out on it.
Businesses that faltered during the pandemic have bounced back stronger than ever, and five years on new niches are opening up, says Nicholas Neveling.
Almost two decades on from the global financial crisis, Scotland’s big energy deals have signalled a return to form. With a strong pipeline of start-ups and high-quality mid-market businesses lined up for investment, it’s later-stage capital that is in high demand. By Nicholas Neveling.
Amid tariff changes, reversals of changes, and stockmarket wobbles, Enfuse Group remained a standout investment target for Agathos. Nicholas Neveling reports.
HR due diligence is rapidly becoming a vital element of deal due diligence, as buyers seek out more accurate valuations. As its scope broadens, David Prosser looks at how the value of – and risk associated with – a workforce is quantified.
Part two of the Financial Technology Ventures II v ETFS Capital review dives into the valuation of a 9.9% Nasdaq holding, the limits of option model DLOMs and why the court ultimately split the difference between blockage discounts and influence premiums – adding another key precedent to the growing body of equitable value case law.
The Financial Technology Ventures II v ETFS Capital decision offers a sharp reminder of how DLOC, DLOM and equitable value can radically reshape minority valuations – reviving debates on control premiums and exposing just how far methodologies can pull valuations apart.
ICAEW’s Tax Faculty provides a summary of some of the key changes affecting individuals from 6 April 2026, including increases to some of the rates of income tax and capital gains tax (CGT), as well as reforms to inheritance tax (IHT).
For rehab business Providence Projects, it was all about finding the right buyer and the right price, says Oliver Aspinall, corporate finance manager at S&W.
Investing in a business is just the beginning of the private equity process. Nicholas Neveling examines how non-executive directors and observers help management teams drive growth through to a successful exit.
Management incentive plans (MIPs) can be modelled to three decimal places, and breeze through HMRC approval, but if CFOs don’t trust them and the management team don’t believe in them, they’re doomed from the start. Burges Salmon partner Nigel Watson and Francis Moore of Wyvern Partners, explain how to plan to succeed.
An independent business for 200 years, Hill & Smith, a provider of solutions to the infrastructure and built environment sectors, received the much-coveted corporate development award at last year’s Annual Reception. Marc Mullen talks to Joel Whitehouse, group head of corporate development at Hill & Smith, about its M&A strategy.
While the economy may not be perfect, there are positive signs that we’ll see more public company and private equity activity in 2026, says David Petrie, ICAEW’s Head of Corporate Finance.
From nursery buy-and-builds to private school consolidation and university mergers, each education sub-sector is responding to its own specific challenges. Jason Sinclair looks at what’s driving activity in this busy UK market.
The breakneck speed of AI development is disrupting the deal-making world. What are the guardrails and how can terms of engagement hope to hit this moving target? Jo Russell reports.
Jon Moulton sees the private equity and listed worlds converging, creating conflicts and risks, but no shortage of opportunity for corporate financiers.
The Corporate Finance Faculty’s Annual Reception – one of the biggest in-person events in the ICAEW’s calendar – took place at Goldsmiths’ Hall in the heart of the City of London last month. More than 200 guests were greeted by a champagne reception, accompanied by a string quartet, at the Grade I-listed 190-year-old hall.
A new guideline from ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty focuses on the cultural and people-related risks and opportunities that need to be considered in a transaction.
The healthcare sector has been busy this past decade. Private equity, corporates, and international investors have all been active – each responding to unique market drivers, regulatory challenges, and evolving public sentiment. Jason Sinclair looks at a resilient M&A sector.
Two-and-a-half centuries ago, Liverpool was a driving force behind the industrial revolution; now, it’s at the heart of a new movement. Jo Russell looks at how the city and wider region is spearheading the life sciences and technology revolution.
ICG’s sale of Kee Safety to Inflexion and 65 Equity proves that a high-quality business, polished by successive private equity owners, will always command a good valuation, whatever the market conditions. Nicholas Neveling reports.
Continuation funds keep things straightforward for portfolio companies. But for private equity they are a diversion from the plan. Is it a failure of the model or a pragmatic change? David Prosser reports.
The Jon Moulton Charity Trust, which applies investment principles to clinical trials funding, has backed nearly 200 pieces of research. Marc Mullen speaks to Moulton and the trust’s technical specialist, Dr Helen Critchley, to get under the skin of the operation.
Arriving in the UK from New Zealand with no job, but a strong background in private equity, Chanelle Jones swiftly joined Agathos Management. And now she’s moving up through the ranks.
There have been positive signs for UK M&A so far this year, but what does the future hold? Marc Mullen gets the views of three Corporate Finance Faculty board members.
UK financial services continue to attract investment. Jason Sinclair looks at the drivers behind private equity interest in one of the country’s strongest-performing sectors.
The use of commercial due diligence has been on the rise for private equity buyers in particular. But more than a risk mitigation exercise, it feeds directly into post-acquisition strategy. Jason Sinclair looks at a service line increasingly in demand.
Cyber attacks targeting M&A processes can have financial, reputational and opportunity costs for vendors, buyers and advisers. Dealmakers cannot afford to ignore the risks. Nicholas Neveling reports.
After a year in power, the Labour government has published a review of the National Security and Investment Act. Will changes to the regulation help the flow of investment into the UK without compromising our security? David Prosser reports.
Jonathan Szoke joined BDO at the start of 2025 to set up an ESG due diligence offering. It’s been a long journey for the South African, who started out working on a game reserve as a conservationist.
The resource-rich Middle East has long been attractive to investors, but energy transition is now putting M&A activity in the fast lane, as Jason Sinclair reports.
M&A in manufacturing and engineering has felt the force of macroeconomic instability, but subsectors are generating steady deal flow at attractive multiples.
Silvia Rindone, UK and Ireland managing partner for strategy and transactions at EY, talks about how she is redefining the expertise needed to reshape the industry and meet the challenges facing advisory firms.
As diversity, equity and inclusion programmes come under attack from President Trump’s executive orders, following a rise in adverse sentiment in some quarters, how are Europe’s private equity firms responding? Vicky Meek reports.
Despite private equity interest and consolidation in its sector, MHA has chosen another path for growth – raising £98m with a public listing on the AIM market.
A quarter of mid-tier accountancy firms surveyed by ICAEW are considering private equity investment, and close to half are planning new ESG service lines. But access to skills remains key concern.
The government has announced that, having listened to feedback from ICAEW and others on the design of the new carried interest rules, it will not introduce the proposed qualifying conditions and will limit the new regime’s territorial scope.
Amid current uncertainty, management teams want expert investors and there’s no shortage of private equity in the UK mid-market looking for good returns.
Disruption on a grand scale may be the outlook for the world economy, but when we step back from the noise, what is the outlook for M&A and investment in the UK?
