Brabners‘ corporate team has seen a 50% increase in annual dealmaking volumes, having advised on £789 million-worth of deals in 2023.
Brabners’ 67-strong corporate team is one of the largest in the North, delivering a sixth consecutive year of growth.
The firm’s teams in Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire, and Leeds drove last year’s dealmaking activity, encompassing over 190 transactions.
Brabners acted on a broad range of national and international deals. This included advising Liverpool based software games developer Lucid Games on its acquisition by Lightspeed, part of one of the world’s largest multimedia companies, Tencent.
The team also supported Happy Days day nurseries with its growth plans, completing two acquisitions in a consolidating market. Its dealmakers also continued to support a number of private equity transactions including advising specialist bicycle and e-mobility insurer Bikmo on a £3.4m investment round.
Brabners also completed 18 deals enabling companies to become employee-owned. This helps to facilitate the growing trend for businesses to retain their culture and independence through the establishment of Employee Ownership Trusts (EOT).
Mark Rathbone, partner and head of corporate at Brabners, said: “Many M&A strategies held firm in 2023 as businesses pushed forward with their plans for innovation, expansion and progression – despite facing high input costs, an uncertain political backdrop and increased interest rates.
Mark explained that Brabners is pleased to have assisted innovators in emerging industries in attracting growth funding. He believes that strategic investment will help to accelerate the creation of skilled jobs.
Recently recognised as the “Best Law Firm to Work For” in the UK by Best Companies, Brabners has grown to over 500 colleagues. The firm has also secured a place in The Times’ Best Law Firms rankings and earned the title of Firm of the Year at the Liverpool Law Society Awards.
Image: Mark Rathbone, partner at Brabners.
