Ed jointly heads the financial due diligence business, Dow Schofield Watts Transaction Services LLP, which he helped to establish in December 2008.
Ed qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Manchester and Minneapolis (USA) and then spent 5 years in their transaction services team. During this period Ed worked for a number of clients such as The Cooperative Group, Barcrest Ltd, JCB Ltd, William Jackson Food Group, Close Brothers Private Equity, Visage Ltd and MacQuarie Bank. Whilst working across a range of sectors, Ed focused on the Pharmacy, food manufacture and gaming sectors.
Ed’s experience covers a variety of industries and deal types: financial buy-side due diligence, financial sell-side due diligence, working capital reviews, vendor assistance, bid support and bid defence.
Since forming DSW TS, Ed has worked with a variety of private equity and corporate clients:
Private Equity
- LDC – Platform acquisitions of Kirona, Metronet, Stroma and Waterfall
- LDC – Portfolio bolt-on acquisitions of BBS Group and Approved Design Ltd (Stroma), Xmbrace Ltd (Kirona), Ener-G Procurement (Inprova Group)
- Gresham – Platform acquisitions of ICR (formerly Walker Technical), and LAS
- Living Bridge – Secondary buy-out of Kirona
- Primary Capital Partners – MBO of MSIS
- Finance Wales – Investments in QPC, Medical Gas Solutions, and South Caernarfon Creameries
Corporates
- Dorma (UK) Ltd
- NWF Group plc
- Ideal Shopping Direct Ltd
- Energy Solutions Group Ltd
Transaction Services – Daresbury Office