James Cowper Kreston leads Thames Valley corporate finance market with over £100m of deals this year

Thames Valley accountants and business advisers James Cowper Kreston has in the first 10 months of 2013 completed 17 corporate finance deals with a combined value exceeding £100m.

Deals completed to date include private equity investment rounds, management buy-outs, business sales and acquisitions and a float on the AIM stock market.

James Cowper Kreston’s Corporate Finance team is led by Partner Nick Rogers who said: “The corporate finance market is a barometer to the wider health of the economy and to business confidence.  A return of corporate finance transactions is an encouraging sign.”

Some of the deals completed this year include advising:

• Music and film rights owner One Media on its successful AIM float.  One Media owns the rights to more than 170,000 music tracks spanning 90 years from a variety of artists including Iggy Pop, Ike and Tina Turner, Johnny Cash, Level42 and Pavarotti. 
• The management team of specialist archaeological travel company Andante Travels in its successful management buy-in and investment.
• The owners and management team of specialist insurance provider MicroEnsure on a significant new investment round and the structuring of a new joint venture.  The funding and joint venture will see MicroEnsure continue to lift millions of families out of the cycle of poverty by providing risk protection.
• The management team and private equity house, Percipient Capital, on the management buy-out of Oxfordshire’s River Marketing Limited.
• On the sale of electrical component manufacturer and distributor GTK (UK) Limited to a management buy-out team.
• On sale of Aggregated Telecom, 8el, to Palatine Private Equity backed Selection Services.
• The shareholders of Eclipse Marketing on its sale to New York Stock Exchange listed Stericycle, Inc.
• City & County Healthcare Group on its acquisition of ISS Healthcare.  James Cowper Kreston has advised City & County Healthcare Group on 12 of its 14 recent acquisitions.

Nick adds: “James Cowper Kreston has one of the strongest corporate finance teams in the South East.  We are the go-to firm for business owners and management teams wishing to grow or sell their business.”

James Cowper Kreston’s Corporate Finance team continues to be busy currently leading on eight further transactions including the sale of an IT staffing business, sale of an oil and gas software company, the MBO of a specialist PR consultancy and an acquisition search for a high tech manufacturer.

Nick Rogers, Partner, James Cowper Kreston LLP, Tel +44 (0)118 9590261 or email