Q3's South East deal highlights: Major investments and acquisitions

Corporate buyouts, mergers, deals and investments... The South East has certainly had another active few months.

The local, national and global economies all rely heavily on mergers and acquisitions in order to function. Not only that but they have a huge effect on the organisations and the people who work for them as well. These things being the case, we like to keep a close eye on the noteworthy deals in our region...

This is July and August's round-up (last updated 25th August):

WORKPLACE SOFTWARE: Osbourne Clarke advise Jiminy on investment
The Reading law firm worked on Jiminy's £14m series A funding round to boost product development and the firm's international growth.

AUTOMOTIVE SOFTWARE: Wokingham's CitNOW Group buys rival
They've acquired the Bury-based Real Time Communications, a specialist in developing software for car dealerships.

IT CONSULTANCY: Logicalis acquires Q Associates
The Newbury-based infrastructure & data management specialists have been snapped up by Logicalis, who are, themselves, owned by a larger South African IT firm.

DATA MANAGEMENT: Elisa Polystar take over Cardinality
The Guildford-based cloud-native data management (DataOps) and customer experience analytics supplier has been bought out by the Elisa Group company as part of it's aggressive growth plans.

MARINE SECURITY: MarineGuard Systems have purchased Exploration and Production Information Company Ltd (EPIC)
Southampton's MarineGuard Systems has expanded with the purchase of a Scottish offshore/onshore personnel tracking company Exploration and Production Information Company.

LIVE EVENTS TECHNOLOGY: HMT advises on Brompton Technology investment
Henley-on-Thames-based firm HMT helped the LED video wall processing parts manufacturer Brompton Technology secure £5.1m from Connection Capital in order to 'capitalise on significant growth opportunities'.

BIOTECH: Oxford spinout sells for well over £300m
Oxford biotech spin-off MiroBio, which focuses on inflammatory disease therapies, is poised to be bought by Gilead Sciences, a multinational biopharmaceutical business. This follows the closure of a deal for £332 million.

CROP PROTECTION: Oxford crop protection startup completes £35m round of funding
Pennington Manches Cooper helped Oxford University spinout MoA Technology Ltd with its recent £35 million Series B financing.

FINANCE: Sovereign Capital-backed Skerritts acquire Bradbury Hamilton
Hove's Skerritts, an IFA and wealth management firm, has acquired the London-based advising firm Bradbury Hamilton for an unknown sum.

SPORTS DATA ANALYTICS: Sportlight receive £4m in investment
The Oxford-based player performance data analysis tech company Sportlight have seen investment from, in part, the owners of Southampton FC.

FURNITURE: Inc & Co. has bought the West Sussex furniture manufacturer Maker & Son
Maker & Son, a West Sussex-based furniture firm launched in 2018 by father and son Alex Willcock and Felix Conran, has been bought in a multi-million-pound deal by investment group Inc & Co.

ACCOUNTANCY: Azets acquires a medical accounting firm in Dorset
Accounting and business advice firm Azets has announced the acquisition of Sandisons, a medical accounting practise situated in Dorset.

CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY: Otak acquire Walker Sime
MHA MacIntyre Hudson, from the the Thames Valley, undertook the due diligence for Walker Sime's new agreements with Otak, based in the United States.

FINANCE: Evelyn Partners welcomes 2hWealthcare into the fold
Evelyn Partners have secured the services of Buckinghamshire-based 2hWealthcare, the financial advisers. The deal sees Evelyn Partners secure assets of an impressive £52.7 billion.

PROPERTY TECHNOLOGY: Volaris Group buys up Technology Blueprint
Technology Blueprint, an SaaS software solutions provider to the property tech industry, has been acquired by the Volaris Group.

BATTERY MATERIALS: Nexeon raise more than £170m in investment
Nexeon, a battery materials inventor and producer based in Milton Park, Oxfordshire, has raised more than £170 million in venture capital.

PHARMACEUTICALS: Gilead Sciences pay £342.5 million for Oxford's MiroBio
Gilead Sciences, the American pharmaceutical company, is planning to purchase Oxford-based MiroBio for almost £350 million.

PROPERTY: Hose Rhodes Dickson has been bought by Leaders Romans Group
The firm acknowledged the acquisition of Isle of Wight-based Hose Rhodes Dickson, but no details of the fee paid for the Wokingham-based property services group have been published.

LEGAL: Dynamic Planner obtains funding for expansion
Moorcrofts LLP, located in Marlow, advised the shareholders of Reading-based Dynamic Planner on a capital investment by software-focused private equity growth firm FPE Capital LLP. Dynamic Planner plans to use the money to expand their business across the UK and Europe.

CORPORATE FINANCE: BCMS is now majority-owned by its employees
The Thames Valley-based BCMS has announced a change in its ownership structure. The firm, which specialises in advising privately held enterprises on business sales, is now majority owned by its employees through an Employee Ownership Trust model.

LIFE SCIENCES/SOFTWARE: Manches Penningtons Cooper provides Battery Ventures investment advice to Titian Software
Penningtons Manches Cooper advised Titian Software shareholders on a significant, majority investment from US IT investment firm Battery Ventures. Titian, a bio sciences sample management software solution provider, will use the fresh capital to support organic expansion as well as potential future acquisitions.

ONLINE: Comparison site Lottie attracts new investment
Lottie, a Brighton-based residential care and independent living comparison portal, has raised £6 million in its most recent fundraising round. This means that the site, which was founded in July 2021 by brothers Chris and Will Donnelly, is now worth a cool £45 million.

ENGINEERING/CONTRACTING: Former founder of Dorset's Woodmace has taken the company out of administration
Woodmace, a civil engineering, groundworks and concrete frame expert in Poole, has secured a long-term investment, bringing it out of administration. The investment was made possible by an acquisition by previous owner John Oak, who saved 150 jobs with his cash injection.

BATTERY TECH: Oxford University's battery management spinoff receives £8.5 million in funding
Oxford University spinoff Brill Power, which develops a battery management system that can extend battery life by 60%, has raised £8.5 million in Series A funding. The funds will be used to support team expansion, create new products and extend the company's footprint in the automotive and static energy storage industries.

GAMING: Nordisk has bought Supermassive Games
Nordisk Games, the Danish game industry investors, have fully bought Supermassive Games, the Guildford-based game developer behind the horror classic Until Dawn. Nordisk purchased a 30.7% stake in Supermassive in 2021. Nordisk now has three wholly-owned studios, including Just Cause producers Avalanche Studios Group, thanks to the acquisition of the remaining 69.3%.

SCIENCE: Oxford Science Enterprises has raised £250 million in new investment
Oxford Science Enterprises, an independent investment firm set up in partnerships with the University of Oxford, has raised £250 million in finance. The OSE's total funding now stands at £850 million, thanks to a round of fundraising that includes international investors as well as existing and new blue-chip investors.

FILM & TV: £261m invested in Berkshire's Shinfield Studios
Shinfield Studios near Reading has obtained £261 million in debt financing to build the second phase of its development. The financing, acquired by Shinfield Studios' law firm Farrer & Co from Cain International, will support the project's 18-stage, 85,000 square metre construction.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: Atlas acquire Salisbury Group
MHA Macintyre Hudson assisted Atlas Facilities Management on the acquisition of the Salisbury Group. The total revenue of the two facilities management firms will be £160 million.

ENVIRONMENTAL: RSK buys MSS Group 
BCMS, located in Newbury, has advised the shareholders of MSS Group, a specialist provider of facility and environmental services, on the sale of the company to RSK.

As you've just seen there's been plenty of deals signed so far locally in Q3. Join us again soon for another round-up of all the big investments, buy-outs, mergers and acquisitions.

Been involved in a company purchase or investment recently? If you'd like the deal to be considered for this - or an upcoming list - please email: [email protected].