Brabners delivers fourth consecutive year of dealmaking growth

We’re proud to announce that we’ve delivered another strong year of dealmaking, with our corporate team achieving a 16% rise in activity and the total value of deals we advised on surpassing £900m.

Despite ongoing headwinds in the UK M&A market during 2025, we saw deal values increase by more than £130m year-on-year, advising on over £940m-worth of activity across 168 separate deals. This growth was supported by several significant transactions with long-standing clients, including William Hare Group and Matcher Technologies Limited.

Recognised as one of the UK’s most active dealmakers, our 60‑strong team supports businesses throughout their full lifecycle and offers complementary deal advisory services through our specialist corporate finance accountants. We’re one of the largest corporate teams in the North and were named Corporate Law Firm of the Year at the Insider North West Dealmaker Awards 2025.

Notable deals & high-growth sectors

This marks our fourth consecutive year of growth across our Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire and Leeds offices as we continue to support clients through growth, investment, succession and exit. Interest in employee ownership remained strong, with transitions to employee ownership trusts accounting for 27% of total deal value. Highlights included advising The SEO Works and Partnership Training Limited on their moves to employee ownership. Share sales and purchases continued to dominate overall value, representing almost £600m-worth of transactions and reflecting sustained acquisitive appetite from larger corporates.

We also supported clients across a range of high‑growth sectors, particularly healthcare, logistics, manufacturing and engineering. For example, we advised engineering consultancy Omnia Projects on its acquisition by Egis and delivered the buy‑in management buyout of Associated Polymer Services alongside DSG Chartered Accountants. Our team also advised international clients on high‑value, complex infrastructure joint ventures in Africa and Asia.

Investing in talent

Our momentum in 2025 was underpinned by continued investment in talent. Following the appointment of Partner Dan McCormack in Leeds at the end of 2024, we made further strategic partner hires during the year — including automotive specialist Brett Cooper in Lancashire and tax specialist Euri Yoon, who joined to strengthen our tax advisory capabilities. We remain the only UK law firm offering a dedicated in‑house deal advisory function.

Market recognition & firm-wide growth

We retained our leading market position with a top‑tier ranking in The Legal 500 2026 for corporate and commercial matters and we were commended in the ‘company and commercial’ category of The Times Best Law Firms 2026. Our Head of Corporate, Mark Rathbone, has also been nominated for Corporate Lawyer of the Year in the Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Awards.

The corporate team’s continued success remains a key driver of our firm’s growth. We surpassed £60m in revenue in the year ending April 2025 and recorded pre‑tax profits of £20.3m, up from £18.1m in 2024 — marking our eighth consecutive year of profitable growth.

A look ahead to 2026

Mark Rathbone, Partner and Head of Corporate, said: “It’s been yet another strong year for our team, exceeding £900m in deal value, driven by an increasing number of high-value, complex mandates and a continued focus on supporting clients through the full lifecycle of their business. Despite continued market headwinds, the appetite to transact remained relatively resilient. We have been pleased to see stronger activity return in Q4, which hopefully bodes well for 2026.

We’ve supported a diverse range of clients — from owner-managed businesses to international groups — and have seen particular growth in employee ownership, cross-border M&A and complex joint ventures and work in sectors like engineering, logistics, healthcare and technology. Deal readiness is ever more critical — it’s clear that those businesses which invest early in preparation are best placed to take advantage of opportunities in what remains a selective market.

As we look to 2026, cautious optimism is returning. Interest rates are easing, buyer confidence is improving and our pipeline reflects that momentum. With our full-service capability and national reach, we’re well placed to help clients navigate the next phase, and we look forward to building on that in the year ahead.”

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