Making the cash flow
Some investments and acquisitions by SMEs and mid-market businesses have been paused for around a year now since the mini-budget of the brief Liz Truss-Kwasi Kwarteng government.
That, and the Covid pandemic precipitated spiralling inflation. But last month’s pause in interest rate rises by the Bank of England was a welcome move and suggests that we are very near to the top of the rate cycle. That should hopefully deliver more confidence, mean that borrowing is more affordable and that the deals market moves in earnest again.
Accessing finance and deals are the dominant themes of this October edition of Insider. Dealmakers locally, still known for burning the midnight oil nearing a completion, might have welcomed a respite in activity but supporting acquirers and vendors is what they do best.
Over 17 pages of our annual Corporate Finance Guide we call on the region’s experts to assess where the market might be headed now, comprehensively looking at the active funders, equity houses and industry sectors.
And looking back on the activity of the past 12 months, we present the shortlists for our 2023 Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards (page 27). The flagship evening, to be held in Leeds on 23 November, is a great reminder of what strength Yorkshire has in finance and professional services and what those contribute to economic growth here.
Manufacturing is still a staple of the Yorkshire economy, it’s just getting smarter. And we count down to the big Spring awards dinners Made in Yorkshire and Made in Sheffield by learning what is hot in exporting (page 46) and medical and health device production (page 43).
Our Entrepreneur of the Month (page 4) is the fantastically talented Rev N Murugesan, who wants to reshore manufacturing through a global network of cloud-connected microfactories. With the right financial support, he might just achieve it too.
Ian Leech, editor
@ianleechinsider
