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Save the date! The 28th of October is the 2021 Dealmakers Awards ceremony at Manchester Central. We’re up for ‘Deal of the Year’ in the under £10m category, for our contribution to BGF‘s £7.5m investment into fulfilmentcrowd. Prior to the deal, Rowan worked with MD Lee Thompson and NX Chair Michael McGrath to restructure…

To celebrate our first decade in business – including £1bn generated in exits for our clients – we took the whole team to York Races last Friday. Congratulations go to Teresa Gundry, Claire Powell, Sarah Searle and Louise Stephenson (Associate CIPD), who all celebrate their 5-year Rowan anniversaries. A special mention has…

Rowan Executive Search is delighted to have supported CEO Rory MacDonald, Pete Wild and the Made Tech team with their successful listing yesterday morning. This remarkable achievement was underpinned by the appointment in August of Debbie Lovegrove, Made Tech’s CFO. Debbie was introduced to the business by Rowan; this nuanced, time-critical mandate was delivered on by Mark…

We’re proud that we’ve had a hand in generating c£1billion in exit value for our clients over the past 12 months or so. This series on #exits will shed light on some of those deals, showcasing the success stories that Rowan-appointed candidates have helped to effect. This episode looks…

“We have something really special at Rowan, and it’s all about where we go now.” Rowan’s Head of Sales & Marketing practice Louise Stephenson (Associate CIPD) sat down with Luke Williams to celebrate her 5-year work anniversary, and talk about what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, plans for the future and…

Business growth is our goal, but #ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) concerns are also very important to us here at Rowan. With World Charity Day having just passed us at the start of September, we thought we’d share a couple of our own charitable efforts with you from the…

We’ve been picked up by Insider Media – amongst other publications – for a piece celebrating: – Our ten-year anniversary– £1 billion generated in exits for our clients– Record turnover– New senior appointments– Our own ambitious growth plans! #PeoplePoweredGrowth https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north-west/rowan-executive-search-on-track-for-record-year Thanks also to Bdaily news, Entirely media, Business Mondays and Business Up North for the mentions.

Last week, TheBusinessDesk.com‘s North-West Rainmakers awards brought success to some of our favourite clients. Clubhouse Golf won International Deal of the Year for its sale to German retailer All4Golf – Golf Versand Hannover GmbH. Rowan appointee Jocelyn Morgan was a key figure in the deal. Matillion won Private Company Deal of the Year…

The deal involved Pinesh Mehta leading PE House BGF‘s investment of £7.5m in the cloud-based, tech-led services provider, which will help the business’ growth plans via both national and overseas customer acquisition. In the last 12 months or so, fulfilmentcrowd MD Lee Thompson worked with Rowan Executive Search‘s Paul Waite, Carl Meyler, Louise Ellis and others to…

Yesterday was International Read a Book Day, so what better chance to showcase one of our favourites? ‘Turning the flywheel’ is the sequel to Jim Collins’ Number-one best-seller (and one of Jeff Bezos’ key inspirations for Amazon) ‘Good to Great’, which is nearing its 20th Birthday! It’s a…

The Corporate teams at Lancashire’s Napthens LLP and Manchester’s Brabners have both seen a marked increase in M&A activity for H1 of 2021, with both set to far exceed the number and value of deals during the Pandemic-stricken 2020. Napthens advised on 24 transactions, with a deal value of £210m in the…

Peter Holt and Sarah Morrell from Rowan’s Finance team have worked with Warrington-based Preventative Healthcare specialist People Asset Management Ltd, to appoint a new CFO, Phil Foster. Phil was appointed to help facilitate Private Equity firm LDC’s minority investment into PAM, which was completed in June. LDC’s backing will help drive PAM’s organic…

People-powered growth is our business mantra, but who are the people that make Rowan what it is? We sat down with Finance Associate Director, and Rowan original Carl Meyler, to discuss: – Growing Rowan’s Finance team– Growing vegetables, and, most importantly…– SME business growth If your Finance function…

You may not know it, but today is ‘International Beer Day’, which presents a great opportunity to look at a subject that’s very close to our hearts. Surprisingly, it’s not beer… …but business growth. True, bootstrapping rags-to-riches stories are rare, and if you’d predicted that this business…

This 6-part series will delve deep into a subject that’s very close to our hearts as a Search & Assessment specialist for SMEs; business growth. Voicescape’s CEO John Doyle In the first instalment of this series, we will look at the case of telephony and software vendor…

The SME Owner’s Podcast – S1 E2, “Why an IPO should be on your agenda. Top tips from Rowan’s Corporate Finance and IPO expert Mark Fahy” The podcast’s second episode is hosted by Rowan MD Paul Waite and features Associate Director Mark Fahy, who spent over 14 years with the…

One show that we’ve been following, and that is sure to be of interest to SME owners, is Channel 4’s “The Money Maker”, starring the brilliant Eric D. Collins. We’ve watched with interest as Eric works with SME owners to help them scale with his business knowhow, experience, contacts,…

We’re delighted to announce that we’re sponsoring the Insider Media’s 2021 Dealmakers awards! Rowan’s category will be the ’£10 to 50 million’ award. This award is for the standout regional-led deal, with a transaction size between £10m to £50m, which involves the buying, selling or growing of a…

The Rowan finance team; Peter Holt, Carl Meyler and Sarah Morrell are looking to appoint a Chief Finance Officer, for a high-growth e-commerce and wholesale business, which prioritises and promotes its eco-friendly agenda. This is a unique opportunity to play a key role in a business that is striving to drive genuine…

Privately Owned with recent Foresight Private Equity Investment – International Games Designer & Manufacturer Full Commercial, Sales and Marketing team appointed to support ambitious growth plans after PE investment from Foresight Group. Background Steamforged Games is a privately owned business (founded by two good friends) who design…

What these events will cover: The Rise of ESG: Is this the defining moment for business sustainability and growth? Since the COVID 19 pandemic, Environment, Social and Governance has become an even more important subject. Every business is deeply intertwined with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns….

For the third consecutive year, Rowan Executive Search will sponsor the Lancashire Business View’s Red Rose Awards, this year in the Small Business Award Category! Rowan MD Paul Waite said, “The event focuses on and celebrates SMEs and other businesses in the region, and acknowledges the important…

Is home working just a temporary measure? Data backup & protection business Assured Data Protection has partnered with home workspace specialist MHOR Workspace, to design and provide secure home office units to its clients. (pictured) Assured Data Protection’s clients include NHS organisations, Blackpool Council, Richmond Housing Partnership…

*Record-breaking year for long-time Rowan collaborator BGF* Investment firm BGF has posted record-breaking results in its 2020 Annual Report and Accounts. BGF invested £384m during the year, across 61 businesses – an 11% increase on the previous year. This resulted in 28 exits and returns of £228m….

Some of our Directors and Consultants have been taking part in a challenge during May, to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. We’re fundraising in support of one of our colleagues and her family, whose husband was unfortunately diagnosed with a brain tumour. Each member of the…

Everybody knows our MD Paul Waite; he’s the face of Rowan and very much leads from the front. But who are the other people in the business? Our inhouse marketeer sat down with the indefatigable Louise Ellis, to talk Joe Wicks’ workouts, a mutual love of chicken,…

– Tech businesses: is an on-prem sales model still viable in your industry? – The automation software vendor was founded in 2017 by CEO George Richardson and Ian Forde-Smith. Within industries that are traditionally resistant to change, we are hearing more and more stories of businesses switching…

Executive Search, Talent attraction, ‘Headhunting’ and Recruitment. For some businesses, they are key components of their growth strategies. For others, they’re seen more as a ‘necessary evil.’ Regardless of a business’ stance on its acquisition strategy and activities, one common theme tends to endure; the industry is…

Shopping Shake-up! Commerce marketing firm SMG bought in £15.7m deal. The North-West operator – which specialises in connecting retailers with shoppers instore and online, along with its subsidiaries; Lobster Agency, Threefold and Capture Marketing – has been bought by Next 15 Communications Group. Founded in 2008, the…

Rowan’s inaugural Podcast is here! Host Paul Waite, MD of Rowan will host a series of Podcasts aimed at the SME owner. Season 1, Episode1 kicks off with: “Are you fit for funding? Top tips from B2B Banking expert and latest Rowan recruit Iain Duncan” Direct Link: https://lnkd.in/ew7zhY5…

We’re delighted to announce the appointment of Iain Duncan as Banking Consultant to Rowan Executive Search. Iain was a Senior Manager with global bank HSBC v for over 36 years, primarily in the North West of England, and is qualified to degree level as an Associate of The Chartered…

March marks a year since the first lockdown was initiated, and the way Executive Search, contingent recruitment and business in general is done has changed; video calls, instant messaging and working from home have become the norm for many. Unfortunately, stagnation, redundancies and even business closures have…

This is a question we are frequently asked by SME owners, and that frequency is only increasing given the current economic climate, Brexit and impending Capital Gains Tax increases, which are leading many SME owners to contemplate their Exit options. Recently, Rowan Executive Search supported Lee Gregson,…

How does Rowan ensure happiness at work? You may or may not know, but last Saturday was the UN’s International Day of Happiness. With mental health especially high on the agenda during these difficult times, we spoke to Rowan Associate Director Scott Wilkinson, to find out what…

What is necessary for your business to expand internationally? Established in 2019, iAM Compliant enables businesses, schools, visitor attractions and other institutions to take control of health and safety compliance. Recently, the business has secured a £1 million investment from Maven Equity Finance part of the Northern…

Should the next step in your growth journey be acquisition? Mission Labs, the Lancashire-based cloud contact centre (CCaaS) has been acquired by Gamma Communications for a potential £46 million. Gamma, which is also based in the North West, is a leading UK provider of Unified Communications as…

We’re really excited to welcome Mark Fahy to the Rowan Executive Search family! Mark has a long and successful track record in the Financial Services sector, spending fourteen years at the London Stock Exchange, heading up its UK small and mid-cap companies’ practice. Here, he was responsible…

Is the demand for flexible employment affecting your business? Orka Technology Group is a Manchester-based start-up that creates solutions for hourly workers. The business has successfully raised £29 million during its most recent funding round. The capital is a combination of debt financing from Sonovate and equity…

How can an online gaming business expand into international markets? Founded in 2004, Preston-based Soccer Manager is a free online football management game that has been downloaded by over 50 million players in 234 countries. The game has more than 1 million active users each month and…

What features are necessary for a product to be key to the low-carbon revolution? Acceleris Capital, a venture capital firm based in Wigan, has helped raise £3 million of funds to support the growth of Power Roll Limited. Acceleris believes that the renewable energy sector requires disruptive…

Could your products and services benefit from Human-Centred Design? The Future of Human Experiences and Human-Centred Design is a new campaign that has been launched in Greater Manchester enabling SMEs to work alongside large corporates and leading academics to maximise the success of new products and services….

Will a change in management help to drive growth? AT Engine Controls (ATEC) Engineering Solutions is a Manchester-based manufacturing and engineering firm which specialises in the aerospace and defence sectors. Recently, the business has gone through an MBO with three of the management team purchasing ATEC for…

What would your main criteria be in a private equity partner? Private equity house Foresight has recently invested an undisclosed sum into Space 48, a Manchester-based digital eCommerce agency. Space 48 offers a full range of eCommerce consulting services, such as eCommerce design, engineering, re-platforming and growth…

Sales Director – Privately Owned, SaaS & AI Driven Digital Communications Specialist Matthew Drury placed who has since led a highly successful diversification strategy and won several significant contracts in new sectors Background Saturn is a privately owned, SaaS & AI driven digital communications specialist, selling visual…

Is big and bold the best way to tackle the pandemic? Shoot the Moon and Delineo, two independent creative and marketing agencies based in Manchester and Salford respectively, have merged to form stm_grp. The newly formed business will continue to operate through the brands; Shoot the Moon,…

DA Techs is a Lancashire-based company, which harnesses leading-edge technology to offer diamond-cut and painted alloy wheel refurbishment. Recently, the business has received funding, allowing the business to relocate to a larger site in Adlington and develop a portable lathe to deliver on the spot services. Additionally,…

Has the deal making market remained resilient again the pandemic? The second quarter of 2020 experienced a sharp drop in mergers and acquisitions deal volumes due to the impact of COVID-19 Lockdown 1.0. However, the North West market rebounded for Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 as professionals…

How can a business fast track growth? The £5 million turnover, Manchester-based advisory business Winning Pitch has been sold to Newable, a London-based provider of workspace, money and advice to small firms. In 2005, Winning Pitch was founded by John Leach. During this time, Winning Pitch has…

How can one business get ahead in a highly fragmented sector? The private equity house Livingbridge has sold Broadstone, a specialist pensions provider, trustee and employee benefits solution provider, to the asset management company Intermediate Capital Group (ICG). Founded in 1989, Broadstone now manages over 1,500 clients…

In 2020, BGF’s (Business Growth Fund) North West team backed seven business and exited three. Overall, bringing the fund’s regional total to £340 million which is invested in over forty businesses. Despite the challenges of Covid-19, BGF had a very active year and recent investments include A…