Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Midlands Corporate Finance team has reported strong recent growth – both in deals and in its team – despite challenging conditions in the marketplace.
In line with the firm’s deal activity, it has made a number of promotions and appointments, including Harry Gabriel being promoted to Director.
Harry first joined the Grant Thornton team in 2014 and has risen through the ranks in his nine years with the firm. He now supports Nick Gillott, Head of Midlands Corporate Finance, in leading the regional Midlands business and leads on regional healthcare sector coverage, including private care, medical devices, life sciences and pharma.
In addition, Harry Aston and Lydia Bullock have been promoted to manager, with Harnil Motivaras also joining as a manager to add to the team’s East Midlands presence.
These appointments reflect a strong year of deals, examples include advising on Daikin Applied’s recent acquisition of HVAC service and solutions company Brooktherm Refrigeration Ltd, the majority sale of a Dudley-based leading distributor of bearings, spare parts and other safety critical components, Godiva bearings to Swedish-based Roko, and the sale of Derbyshire cybersecurity specialist Nowcomm to fast-growing, Palatine-backed IT services company FourNet.
The team’s strong year of transactions and investment in the local team lay a solid foundation for 2024, as the firm expects even more success with a robust pipeline of deals to deliver next year, despite what remains a challenging M&A marketplace.
Nick Gillott said: “It is well publicised that the M&A market has slowed significantly compared to where we were in 2021 and early 2022. Political and economic uncertainty continue to put pressure on deal timetables, but there is plenty of funding ready to be deployed for the right assets and we continue to see appetite from both domestic and overseas acquirers as they bolster their capabilities and footprint.
“Despite the more challenging market conditions, there is a resilient market for high quality assets. While we anticipate that the market will remain more difficult relative to the period post-Covid, we are optimistic as we enter 2024 with a strong pipeline and expect recent momentum in deal activity to continue.
“The promotions and appointments within the team are a result of our continued investment into the Midlands, as we continue to see great potential and access to a strong pool of talent here.”
Harry Gabriel added: “I am delighted to continue my development with Grant Thornton and support Nick in growing our business. Our regional focus, coupled with our deep expertise across a range of key sectors is driving our strong pipeline of activity well into 2024 working with both dynamic, outward-facing and resilient regional businesses and ambitious international clients looking for acquisitions in the UK.”
