Sign of the times - the most popular search item driving viewers to my blog, for the past few weeks has been variations on "We're all doomed" and Private Fraser.  Nothing to do with M&A or management buyouts.  Perhaps I should set up a Dad's Army related site instead.

Just remember Fraser was wrong!

Another deal announcement.    We've recently completed a management buyout at First Copy Corporation which is one of the top Xerox franchises in the UK.    It operates in the East Anglia region selling the whole range of Xerox equipment from colour photocopiers for the office to large scale digital printing equipment for the printing industry – some machines retail for over £350,000 each and are leading a massive change in the way printing services are delivered.  It is a fast growing business driven by the increasing trend to colour printing.   

The was an interesting deal as all of the employees of the business have become shareholders.  Dave Honeyben the MD will remain in post with a significant minority holding, but all of the employees can now benefit directly from the success the company is currently enjoying.    The buyout was funded by the Coop Bank.   This was their first deal locally since opening a corporate office in Cambridge.    In these difficult times it's good to have a new bank in town - that is still lending.    Adam Bradley and Sian Scanlon at Taylor Vinters did the legal work for this one.

In the photo are Adam Bradley, Sian Scanlon, Tim Jones (Coop Bank), myself, Dave Honeyben.

Despite all the gloom in the media about the credit crunch and the banking crisis we continue to meet people who are looking to do deals.  Of course there is more caution, and funding will undoubtedly be harder but there will be opportunities. 

Distressed corporates may seek to sell non core activities to raise cash - we are working an acquisition already where this has been the trigger.   I'd expect there to be management buyout opportunities too.  Anyone out there working for a business with an Icelandic parent company? 

Even if you're not planning a transaction in the short term, such pressures mean that is all the more important to plan now for an eventual exit - or cash realisation.  

To this end we are running a series events on the topic “Business Exit Strategies”.  They are practically focused with interactive sessions and aimed squarely at business owners. 

We hope that attendees will come away with a realistic view of what needs to be done to evolve and implement a strategy for growth, exit, or succession.   The events run in November in Brentwood, St Albans and Milton Keynes.   For further details visit www.pemcf.com

If you had purchased £1,000 of Northern Rock shares one year ago it would now be worth £4.95.

If you had purchased £1,000 of HBOS shares earlier this week your £1,000 would have been worth £16.50

If you had invested £1, 000 in XL Leisure it would now be worth less than £5

But if you had bought £1000 worth of Stella Artois one year ago, drank it all, then took the empty cans to an aluminium re-cycling plant, you would get £214. So based on the above statistics the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and re-cycle.