Following a very strong performance in 2020, the corporate finance team at RMT Accountants & Business Advisors is targeting a record dealmaking year this year as both the UK and North East economies bounce back from Covid-19.
The Gosforth-based firm, which works with firms of all sizes both within and outside its home region, is expecting to complete deals worth a total of around £250m during 2021.
The RMT corporate finance team has already completed projects worth a combined £200m in the first quarter of 2021 and is expecting to see high activity levels to continue as the year progresses.
Recent deals with which the team was involved include the sale of County Durham’s GT Timber to the UK’s largest privately-owned timber engineering firm, James Jones & Sons, the sale by Aurora Care Group of its Langley House Residential Care Home in Horden near Peterlee and the acquisition of Sunderland creative agency IGNIFI by London integrated marketing group Selbey Anderson.
It was also involved in transactions worth more than £40m in total in 2020, with major projects including the sale of Gateshead-based payroll & HR specialist Cintra Payroll, the management buyout at North East adaptive living business Dolphin Stairlifts and the acquisition of Whitworth Hall by the Apartment Group.
Michael Cantwell, head of corporate finance at RMT Accountants, says: “The last year has undoubtedly been hugely challenging for many businesses, but that didn’t mean that everything ground to a halt.
“Our corporate finance team has remained consistently busy over the last 12 months with a wide range of disposals, acquisitions and finance raising projects, and carried this momentum through into 2021 – and with the economy getting ready to reopen fully once again, we’re expecting activity levels to remain high as the year progresses.
“The experience of the pandemic is also likely to have impacted on the exit plans of many business owners who have decided they want to enjoy the fruits of their labours sooner than they’d originally planned.
“This is going to mean that there will be attractive acquisition opportunities available to those with access to the required capital, sector knowledge and expert advice, and we’re already seeing momentum building in the market as a result.”
RMT Accountants provides the full range of financial and business advisory services through its corporate finance, accountancy, specialist tax, medical & healthcare, and recovery & insolvency teams.