Clearwater advises £419m of deals
Midlands-based Clearwater Corporate Finance has achieved “record” half-yearly deal figures. The company, which has offices in Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester, advised several high-value M&A deals, and witnessed a 114 per cent increase in deal value over the six months.
Clearwater experienced 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.
The company advised on 14 transactions worth £419m in the last six months, compared with ten transactions totalling £196m in the first half of 2009.
The firm’s average deal size reached £30m in H1, with three transactions with values over £50m.
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.
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.
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.”
Sixty per cent of trade sales involving Clearwater in H1 were cross-border deals originated through its membership of international M&A organisation, IMAP.
