Alliance aimed at facilitating increased investment into UK SMEs to help accelerate their growth

Cavendish Corporate Finance, the UK’s leading sell side mid-market M&A firm, is pleased to announce it has signed a agreement HFG China, one of China’s top cross-border corporate finance houses, which is aimed at facilitating greater investment into UK SMEs to help accelerate their growth and expansion.

China is increasingly important as a source of inward investment for businesses globally and for UK companies too. Over the past nine years, since 2005, China has invested close to $700 billion (£432billion) overseas, with around $130 billion (£78.9 billion) invested worldwide last year.

Over $6 billion (£3.8billion) of that total was invested in the UK in 2012 and to end June this year close to $3 billion (£1.6billion) had been invested. However, though the UK has managed to attract more Chinese investment than any other European country, there are still opportunities to increase investment flows and while Chinese investors have taken stakes in many blue-chip British companies, such as Barclays, BP, Diageo and Thames Water, more money could flow into UK SMEs.

Only last month, a ground-breaking deal was signed between business promotion groups, China Britain Business Council and China’s ProSME, which is designed to step up support for two-way SME trade and investment and initiate further collaboration between SMEs from both countries.

UK growth businesses seeking Chinese investment and partners typically have limited awareness of Chinese businesses and language and cultural issues often make it more difficult for UK SMEs to either attract investment or find partners or buyers for their companies.

In this context, the new partnership between Cavendish and HFG China will be extremely helpful for UK growth companies. HFG’s top M&A advisory team combines broad experience in global capital markets with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the business strategy and financing demands of local Chinese businesses as well as cross-cultural management experience in Chinese company operations. This allows HFG to help UK entrepreneurs’ source exactly the right type of potential partners and investors for their businesses.

Cavendish has an excellent, high-quality network of UK entrepreneurs and SMEs, including some of the UK’s most exciting growth business, looking for Chinese investment, partners and buyers. Last year Cavendish completed on the sale of 17 businesses and so far this year it has completed 12 deals. Previous deals include Raleigh, Liberty, Princess Yachts, Smythson, Opta, Hawk-Eye, SME Invoice Finance and Datong plc.

Both Cavendish and HFG China are members of M&A International, a unique global alliance of leading mid-size M&A houses, which offersthe unparalleled resources of over 600 professionals in 46 M&A advisory and investment banking firms operating in 41 countries. Members advise primarily middle-market companies on acquisitions, divestitures, fundraising and fairness opinions, closing 1,300 transactions totalling more than US$75 billion in transaction value in the past five years.

Lord Leigh of Hurley, Senior Partner at Cavendish Corporate Finance, commented:
“We are delighted to be partnering with HFG’s well-established advisory team to help UK SMEs and growth businesses attract the investment, funding and partners they need to accelerate their growth. We have a strong pipeline of dynamic businesses, many with strong brands and excellent track records, which would be well suited to Chinese investors and entrepreneurs. HFG will help us to establish those important relationships and source appropriate buyers to increase the flow of investment between Chinese investors and UK growth companies.”

John Zhang, CEO of HFG China, commented:

“Cavendish is the UK’s leading sell-side M&A advisory firm and we look forward to helping the firm identify strong, dynamic Chinese companies, which are keen to acquire and partner with fast-growth UK businesses to spur their expansion and increase their opportunities to move into new markets.”