UK top 10 accountancy and business advisory firm Johnston Carmichael’s Corporate Finance team has achieved its most successful year to date, delivering 43 deals with a value of more than £600m in the financial year ending 31 May 2023.  

The deals – which had a total value of £617m - were completed across a range of sectors including energy, Technology & Life Sciences, Food & Drink, Financial Services, and Construction & Property. 

Highlighting the breadth and depth of the team’s expertise, they also included a wide variety of transactions including disposals, fund raisings and due diligence.  

Among them were the sale of Lees Foods, producers of the iconic Scottish snowballs and meringues, to Finsbury Food Group, advising on multiple due diligence transactions for global testing, inspection, certification and compliance specialist, Phenna, and a fundraising to support the business strategy of Right Digital Solutions, a leading provider of workplace technology solutions across the UK. 

 A significant proportion of the deals had an international context, with the team advising on sales to businesses based in markets including the US, Australia, Norway and the Middle East. 

Graham Alexander, partner and Head of Corporate Finance, said: “After the recent challenges of Brexit, the pandemic and inflationary increases, our Corporate Finance team is extremely proud to have achieved our most successful year. 

“We were lead adviser on disposals for some very well-established businesses and expanded our reach across the firm’s key sectors, including Technology & Life Sciences, and Energy, Infrastructure & Sustainability, both in the UK and overseas. 

“The trust that our clients place in us is testament to the skills and experience we have within not just the Corporate Finance team but also the wider business. With in excess of 850 people and partners we are able to offer a full-service approach that is seldom available outside of the Big Four, providing complementary additional services such as taxation, out-sourced finance and wealth planning. 

“Looking ahead, despite the uncertain economic outlook, we anticipate opportunities for cash-rich trade buyers, particularly internationally, as well as PE investors as they continue to look for deals where they can deploy the funds they have available.” 

Incorporating five partners and five directors, Johnston Carmichael’s 20-strong Corporate Finance team is located across the UK. Its experts have in-depth experience and knowledge of M&A, financial due diligence, fundraising, valuations and dispute resolution, financial modelling and business planning, and project finance. 

Among the key deals the team delivered in the financial year ending 31 May 2023 was the sale of AGR Automation, a leading UK designer, developer and integrator of innovative and high value automated systems, to Convergix Automation Solutions, a global automation and connectivity systems provider backed by leading US private equity firm Crestview Partners. 

The acquisition of AGR represents the third investment in Crestview's strategy to build Convergix into a diversified automation solutions provider, targeting a global market valued at more than $500 billion.