Transaction Services Team set to leverage Leeds market

Saffery’s successful Transaction Services Team is expanding into Yorkshire.

The firm has been providing transaction services for almost 20 years, with a 10-stong team in London, and a team of four joined Saffery in Manchester in 2023. That team, which is now five-strong, all have notable deal experience having worked for either the ‘Big 4’, or top ten accountancy firms in the UK, and are now expanding into Leeds.

The Northern team is led by Hayley Brightmore-Cox. She said: “Having established ourselves in Manchester, the time is right to expand our service offering further in the North, and we will be working with our colleagues in Leeds to develop this side of the business.”

Saffery’s Transaction Services Team works for a wide range of private equity houses, banks, debt funds and corporate clients across a range of sectors. The team typically advises on transactions that range between £2 million and £50 million in deal value, and these can also be cross-border.

Hayley added: “We have worked for a number of mid-market private equity houses with a Leeds or Yorkshire focus including YFM, Equity Partners, LDC and Foresight Group, and we plan to further grow our client-base of acquisitive corporate clients in the region, as well as advising banks and debt funders that are funding acquisitions.”

Saffery’s transaction services team carries out in-depth financial investigations for potential buyers, lenders, or investors which either gives them the confidence they need to proceed with the deal or arms them with the relevant knowledge and facts to reconsider their options. The due-diligence report is a typically a credit requirement for banks and private equity firms and can usually be delivered by Saffery in two to four weeks.

Hayley added: “Our team’s expertise makes Saffery an obvious choice for this kind of work in Yorkshire. Over the last five years there has been plenty of market uncertainty with Covid, inflation, high interest rates and supply chain issues all combining to make the private equity market understandably nervous, but confidence is definitely returning, and there is a lot of money that needs to be deployed, so we are predicting an increase in activity this year.”

As well as working with private equity houses, banks and investors, Saffery’s team also advises businesses that have healthy cash reserves and don’t need to borrow money to make an acquisition or merger. Hayley said: “We are completely sector agnostic and have provided transaction services to businesses in all industries in recent months, from fire safety to recruitment and SaaS to manufacturing.”

As well as advising buyers, Saffery also works for business sellers. Hayley added: “This has been a big growth area for us. Businesses want to be fully prepared before bringing the opportunity to the market. We are advising more business sellers than ever before, to ensure enhanced transparency and minimise the risk for investors or buyers, which reduces the chances of the deal collapsing further down the line.”

Saffery employs an 84-strong team in Yorkshire, which includes eight experienced partners leading on every client. Saffery was established in 1855 making it one of the UK’s longest-standing independent accounting firms. Today it employs more than 1,200 people across nine UK offices.