1813 Club and Premier Members


1813 Club and Premier Members


Greater Birmingham’s leading companies


Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the Midlands during the 2020 coronavirus crisis has largely remained intact, according to one corporate finance team. Smith Cooper Corporate Finance (SCCF) says that


New appointment: Susan McKenna


Finance chief joins Sertec


Birmingham-based car part maker Sertec has appointed a new chief finance officer, Susan McKenna. She has held senior positions at leading businesses in various parts of the world, including UK, Europe, Asia and North America. She said: “I can’t imagine a


more exciting and challenging time to join the Sertec family. With its innovation and points of difference in relation to EV and lightweight technologies, Sertec has a very bright future and I look forward to contributing to its future business successes.” Sertec chief executive Grant


Adams said: “We are excited Susan has chosen to join our growing team. The wealth of experience and


knowledge she brings to the role will benefit the business as we move into a new chapter of the Sertec story. We have some exciting times ahead in 2021 and with Susan and other recent senior appointments, we are better equipped to take full advantage of our position in the automotive sector.” Sertec Group Ltd operates


eight manufacturing sites, including six sites in the Midlands, one in Aszar, Hungary, another in Hückeswagen, Germany. The company also has a tooling technical centre in Dongguan, China.


32CHAMBERLINK March 2021


the market had proved ‘resilient’ to the challenges posed by the virus, which originated in China just over a year ago. The company said its experiences largely mirrored the trends reported in a new market review by consumer credit reporting company Experian. In the review, Experian said that dealmakers


were ‘seemingly quick to adapt to completing transactions in the Covid-19 era’, and that deals were still taking place. Experian said that deal making


during 2020 was a mixed bag, with volumes down by 15 per cent on 2019, but 79 per cent up in terms of value – albeit driven by £120bn of big-ticket deals in November and December. SCCF head of corporate finance John Farnsworth said: “The recovery of M&A activity, although variable between sectors, began in May, gaining notable traction in late Q3 early Q4 – driven by the unpredictability of the pandemic, fears of adverse changes to capital gains tax, and steady demand for quality businesses


Premier Membership


Contact: Gary Birch T: 0845 6036650


M&A activity is ‘intact’


from buyers. As a result, annual transaction volumes were better than feared given the temporary stagnation earlier in the year. As ever, there have been good and bad sectors – although many businesses, even in sectors detrimentally affected by Covid-19, have restarted with spirit, fuelled by prospects of pent-up consumer demand following lockdown, low interest rates, easy finance and an early budget, and this has led to increased deal activity.” Although the Midlands remained the busiest region


outside of London and the South East, representing 14 per cent of total UK deals by volume, its performance was actually worse than in most other regions in 2020. The Midlands registered a 17 per cent fall in


volume and a 57 per cent drop in value, compared to 2019. According to the review, the most severe decline occurred in the small deals market, while large deal numbers soared by 23 per cent, although this is one area where SCCF’s experience proved markedly


John Farnsworth: M&A volumes ‘better than feared’


different. Dan Bowtell, corporate finance partner at SCCF, said: “Although we at SCCF have seen fewer large transactions complete this year, there has been a surge in small-medium sized deals, particularly where the companies involved benefit from strong management which reacted decisively and innovatively to the pandemic.”


Partner returns to PwC


his 20 years restructuring career, and will be focused on helping businesses across the region who have got into financial difficulties. The appointment further bolsters


PwC’s regional business restructuring services (BRS) team, which has more than 60 people located across Birmingham and the East Midlands. Mr Williams said: “It's great to be


Great to be back: Eddie Williams


Insolvency specialist Eddie Williams has rejoined professional services firm PwC as a partner. Mr Williams, chairman of


insolvency trade association R3 in the Midlands, has led a number of high-profile administrations during


back and I am looking forward to supporting clients as part of the largest restructuring team in the Midlands. “These are incredibly challenging


times for businesses and their stakeholders with some difficult and uncertain times ahead. “The various support schemes


have been a vital lifeline for businesses in the Midlands, but


many stakeholders are now considering difficult questions around the future and viability. “It's never been more vital for management teams to act now to recover and we are ideally placed to support businesses as they face those key strategic decisions during 2021.” In addition to Mr William’s


appointment, PwC has made 11 promotions across its BRS Midlands team, with Sajjad Hassam named as director of the firm’s debt advisory business. PwC said that its appointments


and promotions were part of a ‘continuing commitment to aid businesses’. Nationally, the firm has a


network of 47 BRS partners and 500 practice staff.


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