The European Commission has announced new regulatory initiatives which aim to promote small and medium enterprises (SME) growth markets as part of its Capital Markets Union.  There have been a number of previous key proposals aimed at SMEs, including on crowdfunding and venture capital finance and the European Commission is now looking to further ease... Read the rest of this entry →

Despite recent forecasts to the contrary, the retail pharmacy market remains extremely active after a healthy surge in sales in 2017.  Acquisitions in this key North West sector are expected to remain very strong throughout the remainder of 2018. RECENT TRENDS Historically seen as a largely stable sector by mainstream banks, what are the reasons... Read the rest of this entry →

Davis Blank Furniss has acted for Burnley-based Jones Metcalf Limited, part of EFS Global, on its acquisition of the entire issued share capital of North Lincolnshire-based JRS Traction Limited. JRS Traction provides high level haulage and logistics services. The value of the deal has not been disclosed. EFS Global is one of the North West’s... Read the rest of this entry →

Often the most tax efficient way of having a co-owner retire from a company is by way of buying back his or her shares. The big attraction is that the company can use its own funds, which is usually preferable to the other shareholders having to fund buying the leaving shareholder out with their own... Read the rest of this entry →

Against a background of enhanced growth and confidence in M&A activity, the North West Private Equity Market continues to punch well above its weight in comparison to other regions.  With 2017 data still pending, the region remained the most active outside London/the South East and outperforms its Yorkshire, Midlands and South West counterparts. The statistics... Read the rest of this entry →