Companies with operations all over the North West have announced a string of high-profile deals over the last week.
Household names such as Mowgli Street Food, Home Bargains and THG are among those to have been involved.
Below, BusinessLive has rounded up 13 of the biggest deals from across the region from the last seven days we feel you should not miss.
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If you have a new deal that you would like featured in our next round up, please e-mail jon.robinson@reachplc.com.
Mowgli Street Food
Mowgli Street Food, the restaurant chain founded by celebrity chef Nisha Katona, has secured a new private equity backer.
TriSpan has invested in the Liverpool-headquartered company in a deal which provides an exit for Foresight Group.
Foresight first invested in Mowgli 2017 when there were two sites in Liverpool and one in Manchester. Since then it has grown to a network of 15 sites across the UK and create 500 jobs.
Nisha Katona later spoke to BusinessLive about how important the deal was to her company.
Quality Save
Home Bargains has bought fellow discount retailer Quality Save, it has been revealed.
The Liverpool-headquartered company has snapped up its counterpart, which has its head office in Sale, for an undisclosed sum.
Quality Save was founded in 1974 by Bob Rudkin on a market stall in Walkden and a small store in Farnworth.
According to its most recently-available set of accounts, the company posted a loss of more than £64,000 for the 12 months to the end of March 31, 2021, compared to a profit of £1.3m in the prior year.
THG
A stake in software and online retail group THG has been snapped up by Kelso Group.
The deal, worth £2.7m, has seen the group acquire 0.4% of the shares in the Manchester-headquartered giant.
It is the first investment for Kelso, which floated on the London Stock Exchange in January.
Immotion Group
A VR entertainment company has agreed a $25m deal as it plans to hand shareholders millions.
Greater Manchester-headquartered Immotion Group, which has deals with the likes of The 02, Blackpool Tower and the owner of Alton Towers, has agreed to sell its location-based entertainment business (LBE) to LBE BidCo Inc for $25.2m.
The division includes Immotion Studios, Immotion VR and C.2K Entertainment.
The group also confirmed it has completed the disposal of Uvisan Ltd for £100,000.
Re:course AI
A company behind a 'flight simulator for healthcare and life sciences' has been backed by a £20m fund.
Manchester-based Re:course AI has secured $4.3m in seed funding in a round led by Par Equity.
The investment also included Northern Gritstone, the GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura, STEM Healthcare founder Rob Wood and the founders of Current Health.
Steven Bartlett
Steven Bartlett has invested in a university dropout who appeared on Dragons' Den as the youngest solo pitcher ever on the hit BBC One show.
The Social Chain co-founder backed Myles Dickinson with a £35,000 investment in an episode aired on Thursday, February 2.
The teenager founded Haze Customisation in Manchester in October 2021 while studying at The London Institute of Banking and Finance.
Morecambe FC
Morecambe FC are close to being taken over by 20-year-old businessman Sarbjot Johal.
The League One club were put up for sale by Bond Group Investments in September as their owners battled the turmoil at their Premiership rugby side, Worcester Warriors.
Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring have owned The Shrimps since May 2018.
Social Chain
The social media agency co-founded by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett when he dropped out of university is to be sold in a deal worth at least £7.7m.
Social Chain, which was set up in Manchester alongside Dominic McGregor in 2014, is to be snapped up by social and digital media group Brave Bison.
Social Chain works with brands such as Amazon, TikTok, KFC and Apple Beats to create social media advertising campaigns and perform influencer marketing services.
The business has a total headcount of 122 staff, with offices in Manchester, New York and London.
AIS Wind Energy
A Wigan-based lifting, industrial services and maintenance company for the wind energy sector has secured a seven-figure funding package from HSBC UK for its green investment plans.
AIS Wind Energy has used the funding for the acquisition of a new specialist crane, which will be used for onshore wind turbine installation, as well as any necessary decommissioning or repairs.
Managing director Andrew McGlade said: "Funding from HSBC UK has allowed us to embark on an exciting new acquisition of a LG 1750 crane, providing us the capacity to lift the ever heavier and higher turbines that enter the market.
"As the green energy sector continues to grow, we are looking forward to advancing our equipment portfolio further."
Babble
Babble, the London-based cloud technology company, has acquired Avandda in Cheshire.
Avandda, provides telecommunication and IT services to 320 customers across multiple sectors.
The company has snapped snapped up Corporate Wardair Limited in the North East.
Warrant Group
Liverpool-based freight forwarder, Warrant Group has become an employee-owned trust.
The owners of Warrant Group, Ian Jones and Lynsey Morrison, have sold 90% of their shares to be able to step back from the business over time.
Andy Simpson has been made managing director and John Healy has taken over as finance director.
Mr Jones said: "As owners of Warrant Group, Lynsey and I felt that an employee-owned trust fitted perfectly with our company ethos and secured the long-term future of the business.
"This will ensure that our core values, culture and legacy will continue for many years to come."
Wealth at Work
Liverpool-based Wealth at Work has acquired financial wellbeing company Employee Financial Wellness.
Employee Financial Wellness is one of Ireland’s largest providers of financial wellness programmes for employees. Its programmes are used by many of Ireland’s leading organisations both in the private and public sector and its clients include LinkedIn and Alexion.
Wealth at Work CEO David Cassidy said: "We welcome Employee Financial Wellness to the family as we look to expand our services into Ireland to companies requiring a one stop shop for financial wellness solutions including digital communications, financial education, guidance and regulated financial advice."
Advanced Medical Solutions
Cheshire-based Advanced Medical Solutions has acquired Connexicon Medical in a deal that could rise to almost €30m.
The specialist in tissue-healing technologies is to pay an initial €7m with further deferred payments dependent on the delivery of certain research and development, regulatory and commercial milestones between 2023 and 2027.
AMS could make further deferred consideration payments in cash of up to €18m.
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