News

The shortlist for the West Midlands Rainmakers Awards 2025 has been revealed and Bishopsgate is delighted to have been shortlisted for two awards:

• Small Deal of the Year (up to £10m): YFM Equity Partners invested to support the MBO of Replay Maintenance
  • • • Bishopsgate Corporate Finance, Browne Jacobson, Actons Solicitors, PSMI, Claritas Tax, Triple Point, Advance Leasing, Cooper Parry, Henigan Group, Freeths

• Medium Deal of the Year (£10m – £50m): NorthEdge invests in Telford-headquartered EdTech software provider, PebblePad
  • • • Bishopsgate Corporate Finance, PwC, Strategy&, Cortus Advisory, Squire Patton Boggs, Fellwood, Deloitte, Claritas Tax, Lockton, Outside In, ReThought Solutions, Swan Partners, Catalysis Advisory, Gateley Legal, Crosslake

These Awards bring together the West Midlands deals community to celebrate the best deals and teams over the past 12 months. It is an evening that focuses on recognising and celebrating the best work from the year. Well done to all those involved.

The Insider Dealmakers Awards 2025 took place last night and Bishopsgate Corporate Finance is thrilled to announce that it won the four awards it had been nominated for:

• Corporate Finance Team of the Year
• Morgan Atherton, Dealmaker of the Year
• Sam Reynolds, Emerging Dealmaker of the Year
• Deal of the Year (under £10m), YFM backed MBO of Replay Maintenance

Morgan Atherton, Managing Partner comments:

“Bishopsgate has a phenomenal team with a culture defined by integrity, transparency and dedication. This is paired with a proactive approach to innovation and an unwavering commitment to excellence that is clear in every transaction. Winning these awards demonstrates our position as a market-leading independent boutique M&A advisor and I am so proud of the team and what they have achieved.

“Bishopsgate had an incredible year, with six new professionals joining the team and the completion of 12 deals. We partnered with outstanding clients and helped talented entrepreneurs and business leaders achieve exceptional and life-changing transactions.

“We also want to congratulate Sam Reynolds on winning Emerging Dealmaker if the Year. He is highly regarded by the industry and truly is a rising star who embodies everything a dealmaker should be energetic, intelligent and diligent. His quality goes beyond his advisory prowess and is the ultimate team member at Bishopsgate. Well done Sam.

“Bishopsgate will be continuing its growth trajectory this year with the opening of a new office, another Senior hire, and two further professionals joining the team. As a team, we look forward to continuing to achieve business growth and to providing the highest level of service to our clients.”

Bishopsgate is delighted to announce it has been nominated for four awards at the upcoming Insider Media ‘Dealmakers Awards’ taking place on 8th May 2025.

Bishopsgate has been nominated for the following awards:

• Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the Year
• Dealmaker of the Year: Morgan Atherton
• Emerging Dealmaker of the Year: Sam Reynolds
• Deal of the Year (up to £10m): Replay Maintenance on its YFM backed MBO

This recognition is a testament to the dedication, focus, and hard work of each and every team member. Well done.

As we enter the festive season, Bishopsgate is pleased to report a year of strong momentum with 12 deals completed, totalling £275m of deal value, coupled with six new colleagues joining the team.

In summary:

Bishopsgate has completed 12 deals to date in 2024:

• • 5 Private Equity deals
  • 7 Trade deals (3 being PE backed platforms)
  • International investors from across the globe, including the US, Europe and the UK
  • £275m deal value total
  • 6x deals in the Software & Technology sector
  • 6x new joiners from KPMG, PWC, PEM Corporate Finance, Knight Corporate Finance, TA Associates

Morgan Atherton, James McBain Allan and Ed Wesson, Bishopsgate’s owner-Partners, commented:

“Bishopsgate has had an amazing year, partnering with outstanding clients and having the privilege of helping talented entrepreneurs and business leaders achieve exceptional and often life-changing transactions. The outstanding quality of our new team members reflects the success and strength of the Bishopsgate brand, and we take immense pride in our achievements in 2024.

“Our culture is defined by integrity, transparency, and dedication, paired with a proactive approach to innovation. This has enabled us to navigate an ever-evolving M&A market with confidence and success. Our unwavering commitment to excellence is evident in every transaction, fuelling both our pride and our momentum.

“As we look ahead to 2025, we are confidently poised to build on this year’s accomplishments and are energised by the opportunities the future holds.”

Bishopsgate is excited to welcome two additional members to the growing team, Jacob Pattison as Associate Director and Bikram Randhawa as Manager as it continues to attract and add top quality talent to its dealmaking team.

Jacob is an experienced Corporate Finance professional having qualified as a Chartered Accountant at PwC. Most recently, he has specialised in the Technology and Telecoms sector at Knight Corporate Finance, where he worked on a variety of transactions with enterprise values ranging from £5 million to over £30 million. His expertise lies in working with owner-managed businesses, guiding them through successful exits.

Some of his notable transactions include the sale of BSAS Telecoms to SCG Connected, the sale of Daly Systems to LDC backed Onecom and the sale of Enable X to listed Gamma PLC.

Jacob’s proficiency in the technology space complements Bishopsgate’s sector specialism perfectly, adding further capabilities in Telecoms and Managed IT Services / MSPs.

Bikram is a Chartered Accountant and joins after over seven years’ experience at both Mazars and PwC, most recently as a manager in PwC’s Capital Markets team. He brings with him market leading experience in capital markets execution & advisory, reporting accountant services and due diligence experience.

During his career he has been responsible for delivering complex, high profile and key strategic projects for businesses, including IPOs, M&A, divestitures and reorganisations, both domestic and cross border. He has worked across a variety of different sectors and in organisations of varying size from large FTSE100 institutions to early-stage organisations.

Bikram has worked on several key notable projects, including Vistry Group’s £1.27bn acquisition of Countryside Partnerships, Wheels Up acquisition of Air Partner plc, Draper Esprit plc move up to LSE main market and the EasyJet Plc purchase rights for Airbus fleet deal.

James McBain Allan, Partner, Bishopsgate Corporate Finance comments:

“These new hires are a key component of Bishopsgate’s strategic growth plan, underscoring our commitment to bringing on board seasoned professionals with Big-4 and Boutique Corporate Finance backgrounds to drive our business forward.

“Jacob and Bikram have joined us at a pivotal time for business owners and entrepreneurs, who are facing an unprecedented surge in interest from international buyers and Private Equity investors. Their expertise and insight will be instrumental in maintaining the exceptional service that has become the hallmark of Bishopsgate.”

The shortlist for the inaugural East Midlands Rainmakers Awards, celebrating the corporate finance individuals and teams responsible for the top deals of the year, has been revealed and Bishopsgate has been shortlisted for three awards:

1. Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the Year

2. Medium Deal of the Year (£10m-50m)
   • The sale of Buttress Group to H2 Equity Partners
     Browne Jacobson, Eversheds Sutherland, Bishopsgate Corporate Finance, Hillier Hopkins, PwC

3. Rainmaker of the Year
   • Morgan Atherton, Managing Partner, Bishopsgate Corporate Finance

Finance professionals from 40 firms gathered at Nottingham College’s City Hub to select the shortlist from the individuals and teams responsible for arranging hundreds of deals, mergers and acquisitions over last 12 months.

The awards will be presented at a relaxed evening of celebration at the Crowne Plaza in Nottingham on Thursday November 21 2024.

Bishopsgate Corporate Finance is delighted to announce the addition of two new experienced dealmakers to the team, Mohamed Karim as M&A Director and Cameron Rothwell as M&A Manager. Mohamed and Cameron are the first of five new hires joining the firm over the next few weeks as the business continues to grow strongly.

Mohamed has more than 12 years of experience, having spent his career at both Grant Thornton and KPMG, most recently in the Business & Tech Enabled Services M&A team at KPMG advising on a range of private company transactions in the mid-market, including acquisitions, disposals, buy-outs and raising finance. Deal sizes range from £10 million to £200 million+ and he brings significant cross-border capabilities, having completed transactions with counterparties across North America, Europe and APAC.

He has been shortlisted for ‘Emerging Dealmaker of the Year’ at the Central & East Dealmakers Awards for consecutive years and was a key contributor on ‘International Deal of the Year’ in 2021 and 2022.

Recent notable transactions include:

• The sale of Goodfellow (Metals and Materials) to US Private Equity House Battery Ventures
• The sale of Go Ape USA to Sun Capital Partners
• The sale of Revolt, a market leading ESG consultancy to Carlye backed strategic, Anthesis

Commenting on his new role, Mohamed said “I am delighted to be joining Bishopsgate Corporate Finance at a time when the firm is growing at pace. Bishopsgate is renowned for its outstanding, client-centric approach that delivers exceptional results and I am looking forward to being part of this exciting growth journey.”

Cameron joins as a Corporate Finance Manager and brings with him over 6 years of experience in advising SME’s and family businesses. He graduated from UCL with a degree in Economics before achieving his ACA qualification and subsequently moving into lead advisory throughout Cambridgeshire and the surrounding areas.

Recent notable transactions include:

• The sale of Shoreside Law to Davies legal solutions business Keoghs a top 40 UK law firm.
• The MBO of Prestige Purchasing a specialist in procurement services to the foodservice sector.

Morgan Atherton, Managing Partner at Bishopsgate Corporate Finance comments:

“Bishopsgate Corporate Finance continues to thrive as the premium boutique M&A advisor in the Midlands and across the UK. Having such high calibre candidates join the team is testament to our continued success and ambition to grow the business. Both Mohamed and Cameron have exceptional reputations in the market and bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge. They have industry-leading technical excellence and a wealth of experience but also a passion and entrepreneurial spirit that align perfectly to Bishopsgate’s values.

“It is an exciting time for Bishopsgate and the Corporate Finance market as a whole. There is significant pent-up demand in mid-market M&A across the UK and we have already seen a surge in activity resulting from many strong tailwinds.  The business has invested heavily in both its IT and physical infrastructure in recent years which we’re now supplementing with a strong new cohort of M&A professionals to build on our increasing momentum and continue to provide premium quality advice to a growing number of amazing clients”

The team at Bishopsgate Corporate Finance spent the morning volunteering at the Stamford & Oundle Foodbank. We heard about the invaluable work the Charity does in providing emergency food and support to local people in crisis. The food is donated by schools, churches, businesses and individuals and is packaged into nutritionally balanced food parcels for those in need.

Over several hours the team carried out the annual stock check – a great team building exercise!

The Stamford & Oundle Foodbank is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.

Bishopsgate Corporate Finance is thrilled to announce the promotion of Sam Reynolds to Associate Director. Sam joined Bishopsgate in 2023 and has proven himself to be an integral and valued member of the team. We’re delighted with the strong start and impact Sam has made to the business and the team, and we’re looking forward to his continued important contribution to the future success of the business going forward.

Congratulations Sam!