North East accountancy firm targets £250m of deals with predictions of "high activity"

A North East corporate finance team is targeting a record dealmaking year as both the UK and local economies bounce back from Covid-19.

The Gosforth-based firm, RMT Accountants & Business Advisors, is expecting to complete deals worth a total of around £250m during 2021.

The corporate finance team has already completed projects worth a combined £200m in the first quarter of the year and is expecting to see high activity levels continue as the year progresses.

Recent deals include the sale of County Durham’s GT Timber to 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.

Michael Cantwell, head of corporate finance at RMT Accountants, said: “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 has carried this momentum through into 2021.

“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. We’re already seeing momentum building in the market as a result.”

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