In a significant collaboration aimed at transforming educational opportunities for young individuals facing complex challenges, Benchmark International, in association with charity organisation PCrefurb, has donated three iPads to The Excel & Exceed Centre at Cygnet Hospital Bury, an NHS secure psychiatric hospital school located in Ashton.

Selling a business can be a sensitive and complex process. It requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most critical aspects is keeping the sale confidential.

Every deal negotiation is different and requires a careful understanding of the seller’s negotiating position. This can be influenced by a range of factors such as the number of buyers at the table and the respective negotiating position of each; synergies between the two parties; which buyer is in the best position to complete a deal and, of course, who is the right buyer for the business, taking into account of a range of other factors.

Martin Franz, who leads Benchmark International’s operations in Germany, shares some basic negotiating tips for business owners looking to sell their company.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the acquisition of North Shields-based Datatron by Kent-based Apogee.

Founded in 1996, Datatron became the first dedicated bureau in the North of England, pioneering document scanning services.

Datatron currently processes over three million documents per week, delivering services to a large number of customers across the public and private sectors. The company has distinguished expertise within the NHS and is responsible for building and maintaining one of the UK's largest digital patient record archives.

Apogee is Europe’s leading provider of managed workplace services, supporting 150,000+ devices for over 10,000 clients across the UK and Europe.

Datatron will complement Apogee’s existing portfolio of outsourced document services, allowing it to deliver a market-leading scanning operation coupled with a unique virtual record management platform.

Benchmark International is proud to be recognized again as one of the most active leaders in the M&A industry by Pitchbook, the leading resource for comprehensive data, research, and insights spanning global capital markets.

By 2027, the e-commerce market forecasts a volume of $6.35 trillion by demonstrating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.51%.

Enth Degree facilitates the implementation and management of network connectivity from financial institutions and organizations to the global financial messaging network.

Within the last decade or so, consolidation has become the name of the game within many of the sectors in the construction and contracting industries.

Benchmark International is delighted to announce the acquisition of Deeside-based drainage services business, PDS, by Salford-based Thermatic.

Established in 2009, PDS offers drainage and wastewater services including CCTV surveys, HPW cleaning, lining, and repairs around the North Wales, Cheshire, Wirral, and North West areas.

Thermatic provides mechanical and electrical maintenance services to building owners and managers throughout the UK and Ireland. The acquisition supports the Thermatic operating model by expanding its technical self-delivery capabilities and supplements their hard facility management offering in the UK.

Post acquisition, all PDS staff will transfer to Thermatic’s existing drainage division, along with its extensive fleet and equipment.

It is the company's second major transaction, following the purchase of a critical ventilation business in 2019, and forms part of Thermatic's goal of supporting current and prospective customers in both private and public sectors.

Steven Partington, director at PDS, said this about working with Benchmark International:

“Overall a great experience in what were very stressful circumstances. The initial teaser and IM were brilliant in locating the right buyer for our business, which I am hugely grateful for. Along the way the Benchmark team were very informative with updates on potential interest, and at the deal end of the process were very professional in helping get everything over the line.”

According to a recent Pitchbook report, buyers favor non-backed private companies in today’s M&A market. Non-backed companies are defined as not receiving any outside capital from private equity, venture capital backers, or angel investors.

So, all the hard work has paid off and you have reached a major milestone in the process – receipt of the draft Heads of Terms (‘Heads’), also referred to as the Letter of Intent or simply the term sheet. For many, this will be the first document that has a real legal look about it, although much of the content will be specifically stated to be not legally binding.

Sam McNamee, director at Benchmark International’s Irish office, explains how the Heads are designed to fulfil two primary purposes. First, to set out the key ‘heads’ of the deal, so both buyer and seller know the deal they are looking to achieve through the due diligence and legal process, and secondly, to give the buyer a legally binding period of exclusivity to have a fair run at the deal.

Monarch Title (seller) is a multi-location Missouri-based title insurance agency. They offer a full suite of closing services as well as title insurance.

If you are considering selling your company, planning your retirement or succession plan, or seeking a growth or exit strategy, you have quite a few options. You can find a buyer and pursue a deal on your own.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the acquisition of Automaten Winkels GmbH & CO. KG (trading as Euroscope) by a German Search Fund candidate.  

Euroscope, based in Wuppertal, Germany, is Europe's largest producer and operator of coin operated telescopes and souvenir vending machines with more than 3,000 installed coin telescopes, penny press machines and souvenir vending machines. The company specializes in the assembling and operation of souvenir medals, tokens and coin telescopes, an integral part of any tourist attraction or landmark.

In July 2023, a German Search Fund candidate, backed by institutional equity sponsors, acquired 100% of the company shares from Jochen Winkels and Dr. Bettina Bähr. They will remain in the company for a transition period to hand over their managing responsibilities to the Search Fund candidate.

An escrow account is a financial account managed by a third party, such as a bank or an attorney, and is used to hold funds or assets until specific conditions are met.

Benchmark International has successfully facilitated a transaction between IEM Energy Consultants to White Wolf Capital.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the transaction between TDS Erectors, Inc. and Capital Extension Crane & Lift. The transaction represents a strategic expansion for Capital Extension as they look to achieve scale through acquisitions. 

It is essential to know how to correctly measure the long-term growth of your business because it is a key factor in determining an accurate company valuation, which determines how much money you can make in the sale or merger of your business.

Have you ever wished you could read minds?

At Benchmark International, our copywriters have pondered this possibility countless times. The idea of effortlessly extracting essential information from our clients' thoughts would make crafting the Information Memorandum (IM) a breeze. While we haven't quite mastered telepathy, the power of collaboration remains our greatest ally.

As industry experts, we recognise that our clients possess unparalleled knowledge about their businesses. Your insight, knowledge and experience are the driving force that propels us forward in creating a compelling IM that leaves potential buyers wanting to know more. To help you maximise your impact and contribute to the success of the IM bringing potential buyers to the table, I've compiled some valuable tips:

Family offices is a private wealth management firm established by an ultra-high-net-worth family. They provide that family personalized services, including investment management, financial planning, estate and tax planning, and more.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the acquisition of Wicklow-based Paramount Packaging by Mediahuis Ireland, through its Reach Group subsidiary.

Paramount Packaging was established in 1997 and is an industry leading importer, distributor and supplier of premium flexible plastic, paper and environmentally friendly packaging and solutions to the pharmaceutical, retail, food services, merchant, and industrial industries.

Reach Group is a logistics and supply chain specialist, operating in a variety of sectors across multiple channels including grocery retail, hotels, cafes, delicatessens, schools, hospitals, medical centres, pharmacies, libraries and more.

The company comprises a number of business units, including Reach-Delpac, a supplier of catering disposables, food-to-go packaging, hygiene products and luxury retail packaging. It also has Reach Stationery, a stationery wholesale operation with brands that include Supreme Stationery and Newspread, the national distribution organisation for newspapers and magazines in Ireland.

Mediahuis Ireland is a Belgian/Dutch-owned media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites including Independent.ie.