Pictured above: Phil Burns
Midlands-based Clearwater Corporate Finance has achieved record
half-yearly deal figures having advised on a number of high-value
M&A deals involving private equity investors and overseas
multinational companies during the period.
The firm saw a 114 per cent increase in deal value and a 40 per
cent increase in volume in the first six months of the year
beginning April 2010, compared with the same period last year,
having advised on 14 transactions worth £419m. Clearwater was
involved in 10 transactions totaling £196m in H1
FY2009.
The firm's average deal size reached £30m in H1, with
three transactions with values over £50m. Of the 14 deals in
the first half of the year, Clearwater originated 10 for the
market.
Key transactions that Clearwater advised on during the financial
year included the secondary buyout of XLN Telecom by ECI Partners;
the sale of specialist teacher recruitment business, Teaching
Personnel, to Graphite Capital; and the sale of DCC Plc's mobility
and rehabilitation business to Patterson Medical Ltd, the UK
subsidiary of US-based Patterson Companies Inc. In its largest
deal, the firm advised residential property specialist, Adam
Lawrence, in securing a £100m funding package - including a
£50m equity investment from Graphite Capital - to support the
development of his new house building company, London Square.
Support Services was the most active sector in H1, which
accounted for half of all deals advised on by Clearwater. Other
deals were spread across the firm's consumer, healthcare,
technology, and industrials and chemicals sector teams.
Phil Burns, managing partner at Clearwater Corporate Finance,
said: "Despite an uncertain economic outlook, concerns surrounding
widespread government cuts and continuing funding restrictions, we
continued to advise on and originate some of the key mid-market
deals in the UK in H1. Our proactive approach in sourcing new
mandates is reaping rewards, while investment in our sector teams
has allowed us to build strong, valued partnerships with UK
corporates and investors alike.
"In H1, there were signs of a gradual recovery in the
mid-market, with private equity houses beginning to compete for the
best sector targets, and overseas corporates scouting out UK
acquisitions to accelerate growth, and access the UK and wider
European markets."
60 per cent of trade sales involving Clearwater in H1 were
cross-border deals originated through its membership of
international M&A organisation, IMAP. These transactions
included the sale of Dublin-based crop protection chemicals
developer, AgriGuard, to agricultural chemicals manufacturer and
marketer, Mitsui Agriscience International - the Belgian-based
subsidiary of Mitsui & Co, headquartered in Japan.
Burns concluded: "We benefited greatly from our membership of
IMAP in H1, in an environment where Far Eastern and North American
multinationals are looking to grow and develop their businesses in
Europe. We envisage that our cross-border deal volume will increase
in the coming years, as more foreign groups seek acquisitions in
the UK, and we extend our own contacts and relationships with
acquisitive overseas groups."