Beech Tree Private Equity invests in Microsoft Cloud Specialist Beech Tree Private Equity has invested in Transparity Solutions and is set to support the fast-growing Microsoft cloud specialist’s plans to scale up rapidly in a fragmented market. Beech Tree and Newco were advised by Ed Brentnall, Rob Parker and Rebecca Smith of Dow Schofield Watts … Continued
Aberdeen engineering firm J&S Subsea acquired by management Aberdeen subsea engineering firm J&S Subsea has been acquired by its management in a deal that signals confidence in the long term prospects for the North Sea. Dow Schofield Watts Corporate Finance advised the buyout team. A team led by Matt Blair acquired the J&S Subsea operation … Continued
Book sales for James Dow’s series have reached as far as France, Spain and the US and the total raised is at £590 (for the National Autistic Society). If you haven’t got your copy yet follow the links below. Conquering M&A Conquering PLC Advisory Conquering Private Equity Transactions Conquering the City Code Also lookout for the … Continued
Most active dealmaking advisers of H1 2020 announced In the North West, we have kept our number 2 position in the most active dealmaking advisers with 8 deals completed so far. Recent deals include securing £7M in funding for digital wealth platform Smarterly. In Yorkshire, we have moved up to number 8 in the ranking … Continued
Financial preparation to enhance or protect value in transactions Planning ahead is key to getting maximum value in corporate recapitalisations, refinancings and disposals. Well-presented, well-packaged opportunities are likely to generate the most interest and achieve best value. Poorly-presented opportunities run the risk of elongated timetables, price chips or failed processes. Our new paper looks at … Continued
Dow Schofield Watts Corporate Finance in Yorkshire and North East has advised Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists on its investment from BGF. Bayfields was founded in 2004 by optometrist Royston Bayfield and has its head office in Esholt. It has grown to 19 practices, including sites in County Durham, Lancashire, Hampshire, Surrey and Yorkshire, with 13 sites … Continued
Start-up raises £4m to roll out new EV charging points Dow Schofield Watts Aberdeen advised start-up Trojan Energy on its £4.1m seed funding round to support the roll-out of its on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging points. The product aims to help solve the issue of charging for vehicle owners without access to off-street parking, which is … Continued
How has the UK Deals Market been affected by the Covid-19 crisis? What is the current state of play, and what are the emerging deal themes as we come out of lockdown? The Dow Schofield Watts Corporate Finance and Transaction Services teams in Yorkshire & the North East give their views in this document. We … Continued
An interview with our new Non-Executive Director Heather Lauder Heather Lauder joined us as Non-Executive Director earlier this year and brings over 30 years of experience in retail and business banking to Dow Schofield Watts. Heather talks to Nicole Burstow, Finance Director about why she joined, first impressions and the future for Dow Schofield Watts. … Continued
DSW Debt Advisory – the new service launched just before the lockdown to help companies raise debt funding – has attracted another senior banking figure. Simon Carrier, who recently departed his post as Regional Managing Director of Shawbrook Bank, has joined as a Partner to help meet the growing demand. Simon’s 25–year banking career includes spells at RBS, Bank of Ireland and Santander where, as Regional Director of its corporate and commercial arm, he helped introduce its business banking service across Merseyside, Lancashire and Cheshire. DSW Debt … Continued
Digital Wealth Platform Smarterly Raises £7M Digital wealth platform for the workplace Smarterly has secured £7m in Series A funding. The London-based FinTech allows employees to save and invest in an ISA directly through payroll, and uses analytics and algorithms to design and monitor personalised portfolios. Dow Schofield Watts’ Corporate Finance Team arranged the funding … Continued
Heather Lauder Appointed Non-Executive Director Heather Lauder has more than 30 years of experience in senior retail and business banking roles. In her most recent position as chief operations director at the Co-op Bank, she led the transformation of its retail banking arm. She was also a member of the executive team which oversaw the … Continued
Financial due diligence in a Covid-19 world Covid-19 has caused sudden and unexpected disruption for businesses. It will bring new challenges for transaction processes. As things stand, it is difficult to assess how and when sectors and businesses will recover and what the ‘new normal’ will look like. Given these uncertainties, we think robust … Continued
Due Diligence process tips: COVID-19 considerations for vendors DSW Transaction Services acts as a financial due diligence provider to both buyers and sellers. Despite the current environment, we have a number of deals ongoing in resilient sectors. However, the impact of COVID-19 and the UK lockdown is universal and the following is a summary of … Continued
VAT changes to e-books – not the end of the story yet Recently the government trumpeted the news that they are ‘fast-tracking’ the VAT changes to e-publications by introducing VAT zero-rating on 1st May, rather than on 1st December. However, what is not being reported so widely is that HMRC have been resisting (and I … Continued