It’s not unusual for BCMS to provide exclusive, expert insight into the Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) market for other third-party organisations. In the past few years, we’ve been approached to assist a number of trade bodies with their member events programmes. February 2022 saw our first-ever webinar collaboration with the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) – a not-for-profit trade organisation for the UK’s healthcare and assistive technology industry, with over 400 members from sole traders to multinationals.
“The panel of experts BCMS brought together were highly knowledgeable and provided invaluable insights” – Calvin Barnett, BHTA
Assistive technology is a highly active sector for business sales, with deal volume rising significantly. Hosted by BHTA, the Business Sale Bootcamp webinar focused on one of the key themes in today’s marketplace: what to do if you have been approached by a potential buyer for your business. The session is available to watch on demand here.
Expert panel, tailor-made insights
BCMS provided an expert in-house panel. CEO Jonathan Dunn discussed the challenges and complexities involved in every transaction, and offered an introductory overview to company valuation. Kathryn Kane examined the market at a granular level, sharing data-driven insights on key topics including the rise of Private Equity investment in assistive technology globally, and the major themes influencing buyers’ acquisition strategies in the healthcare trades market.
In former BCMS client Kenneth Monro – part of our BCMS Fellows network – we had a unique voice, a business leader who has first-hand experience of the business sale process. Advised by BCMS, Kenneth and his fellow shareholders sold family business W Munro (Rehab) Ltd, which specialises in patient moving/handling and rehabilitation equipment.
Kenneth was illuminating on topics including motivation for sale, succession planning and the business sale process itself. He offered some clear ‘been-there-done-that’ advice to the audience on the specific challenges of selling a company in the healthcare trades sector. Post-webinar feedback was very positive, with BHTA and its members describing the session as “fantastic” and “informative”.
BHTA approached BCMS because of our track record of completed transactions in this specialist industry segment. Alongside Specialised Orthotic Services (sold to Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare) and Sunflower Medical (sold to Indutrade), W Munro (Rehab) Ltd is one of a number of healthcare trades and assistive technology companies previously advised by BCMS.
Calvin Barnett, Head of Marketing and Communications at the British Healthcare Trades Association, commented: “It has been a pleasure working with BCMS on this latest webinar for our members. The panel of experts that BCMS brought together were highly knowledgeable and provided invaluable insights. In particular, the inclusion of one of their former clients who sold his business in our industry helped our members understand how the advice applied to their businesses. We look forward to working with BCMS on webinars in the future.”
Advice for other sector trade bodies
With hundreds of transactions completed across our 30+ year trading history, BCMS has extensive experience across a wide range of different industry verticals. If your trade organisation would be interested in BCMS providing bespoke, sector-specific content on current M&A activity to your members and affiliates, please contact us to find out more.