NORTH WEST YOUR GUIDE TO GROWING, BUYING AND SELLING A BUSINESS IN PRINT. IN PERSON. ONLINE NORTH WEST DEALMAKERSIN PRINT. IN PERSON. ONLINE GUIDE 2017 Many areas of specialism. One focus. Your business. Our areas of expertise are: • Mergers and Aquisitions • Raising Finance • Restructuring • MBOs/MBIs • Business Start-up Advice and Refinancing • Due Diligence • Business/Strategic Planning • Fraud/Forensic Accounting • Company and • Turnaround, Recovery • Business Disposals Share Valuations and Regeneration (including preparing for sale) INSIDER DEALMAKERS GUIDE 2017 Beever and Struthers has a dedicated Manchester Corporate Services Department 0161 832 4901 which provides high quality and [email protected] bespoke advice. Whether you are just London starting up and looking to raise 0203 478 8400 SPONSORED BY finance, want to grow your business [email protected] through acquisition or realise its value Blackburn through exit, we have an experienced 01254 686 600 team who will work closely with [email protected] you and offer tailored advice to suit your specific needs. www.beeverstruthers.co.uk NWCorp DMG Services 17 Cover.indd Advert_178x250mm.indd 1 1 04/11/2015 11:50 20/12/2016 15:51 EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION Welcome to the North West Philip Cunliffe 19 October 2017 Regional business editor Dealmakers Guide 2017. Manchester Central For any business owner, making decisions is part of everyday life. Decisions need to be made on workforce issues, on sales and marketing INSIDER NORTH WEST strategies, on new equipment or property investments – the list goes on. Making the right decisions can be the difference between success DEALMAKERS AWARDS and failure, between increasing turnover and having profits nosedive. WINNER Dealmaker of the Year 2016 But getting this right can be made far easier if you are armed with knowledge, and have the benefit of experience and the advice of experts. GRANT BERRY This guide provides an ideal starting point for any business owner NorthEdge Capital looking to make essential decisions. It provides information on the options that businesses have when it comes to growth, the different strategies that should be considered by business owners and senior For tickets call Laura Davies on management teams, and some of the funding options available. In addition, we detail the key processes that go into making a successful 0161 907 9753 business sale. No deal – be it a sale, an acquisition, an investment or flotation – can Or email [email protected] be completed successfully without the guidance and support of expert www.insidermedia.com/event/ advisers. The guide contains in-depth advice on various aspects of the northwest-dealmakers-awards-2017 deal process, as well as reviews of how successful deals were structured, from professional advisers from across the North West. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to this guide and hope you find it useful, informative and a helpful reference source. For sponsorship and commercial opportunities, please call Adrian Simcox on 0161 907 9745 INTRODUCTION NW DMG 17 Cover.indd 2 NWDM 2017 ad.indd 1 20/12/201614/12/2016 15:5115:20 CONTENTS 1 Contributors Part 1: Growing your business 2 Regional business editor Growth strategies 3 Philip Cunliffe Business funding 4 Senior researcher Funding growth strategies 6 Rob Mayfield Funds available in the North West 8 Designers Martin Bain Acquisition strategies 9 Stacie Broderick Top acquisition deals in the North West 10 Production director Private equity strategies 12 Bob Stoney Top private equity deals in the North West 13 Sales director Neil Mason Investment in Synexus – case study 14 Account manager Part 2: Selling your business 16 Carol White Preparing a business for sale 17 Business development manager Seller’s due diligence 22 Clare Power Valuations and multiples 24 Part 3: Life after the sale 27 MBO strategies 28 ITC Luxury Travel MBO – case study 29 MBOs in the North West 30 Sambro International sale – case study 32 Top IPO and other deals in the North West 33 Wealth management strategies 34 Steadfast Engineering sale – case study 36 Dealmakers Awards 37 Professional listings 39 Advisers list by speciality 40 Deals tables 67 Boulton House, 17-21 Chorlton Street, Manchester M1 3HY, United Kingdom Price: £45.00 Tel: +44 (0) 161 907 9711 Fax: +44 (0) 161 236 9862 ISSN: 1751-4117 Email: [email protected] www.insidermedia.com To order your copy contact the subscriptions/membership © newsco-insider 2016. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. Whilst every reasonable effort has been made to provide adequate information in this publication, newsco-insider department on 0161 907 9733 accepts no responsibility for any inaccuracies or misrepresentations. CONTENTS 2 PART 1: INTRODUCTION Growing your business The opening section of the North West Dealmakers Private equity and venture capital investment Guide focuses on strategies to grow businesses are increasingly popular modes of funding growth. through a variety of means. It contains features We therefore provide detailed analysis of all that on the various deal types that can aid growth, is involved in deciding why and how to work with the processes by which these deals are done, a private equity firm and what benefits it might and specific techniques that all business owners bring to the business. This includes how private might consider. equity works, what private equity firms look for There are many common features in growth in a business and how best to make the business strategies, no matter what the size or scale of attractive for potential investors. a business. We have outlined the processes that The final feature of this section focuses on the need to be gone through and analysed many options that business owners have to consider of the features of a successful growth strategy. to fund the growth strategy. Investing in a business Many companies realise that making an helps it to grow. But what investments to make, acquisition can be a faster and more sustainable and how to fund them, are some of the means of growing the business. But in order for most important decisions that any business a successful acquisition to be achieved there are needs to make. Investments might need to be many factors that need to be considered. And made to buy new machinery, to develop new of course some of these issues will concern the products, to improve efficiency or to expand company that is being acquired. the business’ premises. ©shutterstock.com GROWING YOUR GROWING YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES 3 Getting to the next stage Starting a business is one thing; getting it to the next stage is quite another – it takes ingenuity, clear direction and strong leadership. Some North West business leaders give us the value of their experience s any startup business knows, Business owners must therefore be the question ‘what’s the next clear about what they want to achieve Astep?’ is one which takes quite and be prepared for hard work. Accord- a bit of answering. Having a strong ing to Dr Sue Smith, director of the brand identity certainly helps, because Centre for SME Development at the it means new customers will be attracted University of Central Lancashire, it’s about and be more confident that you and being passionate and committed. She your company can deliver the product adds: “Universities are a huge source or service you are selling. of mentoring and advice – or finding Dan Nolan’s theEword is a digital someone who has been there and DR SUE SMITH marketing agency specialising in prop- done it. I’d really encourage mentoring erty and leisure that helps clients grow and coaching.” brands and engage with audiences Phil Foster, managing director of Love online. “Brand is much more than a logo,” Energy Savings, says he is keen to help he says. “I wouldn’t dream of branding business leaders who want to keep or rebranding a business without the costs down. He uses the rule: if you involvement of directors or founders, pay cheap, you pay twice. “It’s scary because they are the culture. I would to pay good money, but it’s worth it,” advise starting with the basics: who he says. “Surround yourself with better do you work with, what do you do for people than you.” them, how does it help them.” Richard Storah’s Qualtex, based in Restaurateur James Hitchen has Denton near Manchester, is a worldwide restaurants in Spinningfields and Hale, distributor of domestic appliance spare and secured funding from private equity parts. Storah said it was about quality firm NorthEdge to expand nationally. people: “Recruit the best people you can He says: “We had a strong brand and afford and have strong HR and build were doing well, but we needed help. the culture.” We believe there are good things about Should you look at the competition our brands’ concepts, atmosphere and to make your product better? Foster’s value for money.” strategy was to “look at other people’s Hitchen’s advice to business owners ideas and make it better”. But Hitchen is to set your business up, from day one, cares less about rivals. “Stick to your for somebody to buy. He says: “If your own benchmark,” he says. “If you spend team is creating a business they would too long looking at the competition, you want to buy, someone else will, too. can become reactive. People assumed Keep things in order from day one. Get our refurb was because of the compe- the talent in from day one. If you don’t tition. No, it’s because the customers JAMES HITCHEN have the cash, incentivise them.” evolved, so we evolved.” GROWTH STRATEGIES 4 FUNDING OPTIONS A funding friend for businesses One of the government organisations that is aiming to provide a smooth flow of funds for SMEs is the British Business Bank KEITH MORGAN he British Business Bank, formed crowdfunders, alternative lenders and e-cigarette supplier Totally Wicked, by the government in 2013 to asset finance companies.