Deloitte surpasses £1.5bn deals milestone across Yorkshire in six months

The Yorkshire-based transaction services and tax team at Deloitte has advised on more than £1.5bn-worth of deals in just six months.

Among the deals include financial and tax due diligence for Brockton Capital LLP on the acquisition of The Pinnacle, Leeds city centre’s tallest office building, for £65m.

The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) milestone was passed with the completion of investment in Castleford-based Sigma Retail Solutions, a provider of outsourced solutions to blue chip retailers, by Three Hills Capital Partners.

The Deloitte team performed financial due diligence services to facilitate the transaction.

In March, the Deloitte team also provided tax due diligence services on the acquisition of Freedom Group by NG Bailey, the Ilkley-based independent engineering, IT and facilities services business. The combined business now has a turnover of more than £600m a year.

Earlier in 2018, Deloitte completed the reporting accountants work on the £331m rights issue for Bradford-based provider of personal credit products, Provident Financial plc, and financial and tax due diligence for LRC Group on the €676m acquisition of a portfolio of hotels from Lonestar, including the Mercure St Paul’s Hotel and Spa in Sheffield.

Other significant deals completed in the period included financial and tax due diligence for StepStone Real Estate, real estate affiliate of StepStone group the global private markets firm, funding the acquisition of 122 care homes from Bupa Care Services by HC-One; tax due diligence services on the £223.9m return to private ownership of Sheffield-based Servelec plc by Montagu Private Equity, and financial and tax due diligence on three transactions for Arrow Global Group plc.

Over the past two years, the transaction services specialists at Deloitte’s Leeds office have advised on more than £3.5bn-worth of deals.

Matt Henderson, partner and leader of the transaction services team in Yorkshire and the North East, said: “We are witnessing very high levels of interest in high-quality local businesses from overseas funders, and our local corporate client base is also very active in searching out and executing transformational M&A activity.

“This is supported by strong balance sheet positions and the advice and support of our fantastic local M&A advisory and funder community.”