The KPMG Dealmaker Series Podcast

In this episode of our Dealmaker Podcast series, we delve into the exciting deal between Cocogreen and Circularity Capital, a specialist private equity firm investing in growth stage businesses in the circular economy. We talk to Cocogreen's Founder and Co-founder, Dr Sudesh Fernando and Thomas Ogden, as well as Claire Frangou, Director of Corporate Finance at KPMG UK.

Cocogreen is a leading global brand in coir substrates, offering sustainable solutions for crop growth using coconut coir, a natural fibre extracted from coconut husks. Founded in 2010, Cocogreen has become a trusted partner for suppliers seeking reliable and sustainable growth solutions.

In this episode, we explore the story behind the Circularity Capital deal and the challenges faced along the way. Dr Sudesh and Thomas Ogden share their experiences and offer valuable advice to business owners considering seeking outside investment or selling their businesses. Tune in to gain insights and inspiration from this exciting business journey.

In this episode of our Dealmaker Podcast series, we talk about the deal between Amazon Filters and investor, BGF.

In this episode of our Dealmaker Podcast series, we talk about the sale of Zenergi to the mid-market private equity firm, ECI.

Jo Sheerin is joined by Graham Cooke, CEO of Zenergi, and Alex Hartley from KPMG as they discuss the story behind the sale of the business and the challenges they faced along the way.

Zenergi is an award-winning customer service company that specialises in energy and provides a range of services including energy procurement, contract management, and energy and carbon reduction solutions. As a partner to the UK Government, they work to promote new jobs and skills, encourage economic growth and prosperity, tackle climate change, and level up the UK as a whole.

Graham speaks about his journey of growing Zenergi from a small regional consultancy in Southampton to the team of 220 that is now one of the UK’s leading energy and environmental consultancies.

We go behind the scenes of this exciting deal as Graham and Alex share their experiences of selling the business, and provide helpful advice to others considering doing the same.

The story behind the deal.

In this episode of our Dealmaker Podcast series, we talk about the sale of The Whisky Exchange to the world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, Pernod Ricard.

Jo Sheerin is joined by Sukhinder Singh, Founder of The Whisky Exchange, and Rob Baxter from KPMG as they discuss the decision to sell the business and the challenges they faced along the way.

The Whisky Exchange was founded in 1999, and grew from being a small shop in West London to the internet’s number-one specialist retailer of whisky and other spirits, now serving thousands of satisfied customers every week.

Sukhinder speaks about his journey from building the initial customer base to dealing with competition from companies like Amazon, and then deciding to sell the business he was passionate about.

We go behind the scenes of this exciting deal as Sukhinder and Rob share their experiences of selling the business, and provide useful advice to others considering doing the same.

The story behind the deal.  In the eighth episode of our Dealmakers Podcast series, we talk about the sale of Rockpool backed Outright Games to private equity firm EMK Capital. Outright Games is a family-friendly interactive video games publisher featuring well known characters such as Peppa Pig, PAW Patrol, PJ Masks, DreamWorks Spirit, & Jumanji. Set up as a family run business, they are the number one global publisher of children’s games on console.

Host Jo Sheerin is joined by Adam Whittaker, CFO of Outright Games and Ben Hutchinson, Investment Director at Rockpool as well as Nenad Simonovic and Ekrem Shahin from KPMG as they discuss the decision to sell and the challenges they faced along the way.

The gaming market reached over $160 billion last year and set to exceed over $200 billion by 2023, making it one of the fastest growing forms of digital entertainment.  We go behind the scenes of this exciting deal as Adam and Ben discuss how you maximise the value of a deal whilst finding the right partner for the future of the business. 

In the next episode of our Dealmaker Series, host Jo Sheerin is joined by Mark Packman, CEO of Matrix Telematics, a global leader in fleet technology who was recently invested in by Bridges Fund Management, and Nisha Sharma, KPMG Corporate Finance Director, who led on the deal. 

In this episode, KPMG host Jo Sheerin is joined by serial entrepreneur Dan Lowe, original Co-Founder of UK craft brewery Fourpure, and dealmaker Rob Baxter, the KPMG UK Global Head of Consumer in the Corporate Finance team.

Dan takes us behind the scenes of the deal, sharing his personal experiences and key learnings from when he sold the business to Australia-based drinks company, LION, in 2018.

In the fifth episode of our Dealmaker Series, KPMG in the UK host Jo Sheerin is joined by Mick Crosthwaite, former Chairman of HAS Technology, a leading provider of technology solutions for health and social care, and Graham Pearce, TMT team lead in Corporate Finance who led on the sale of the business to The Access Group, a market leader of business solutions and software.

We go behind the scenes of this fascinating deal where Mick, an experienced dealmaker, shares his experiences of the sale and offers some practical advice for future sellers.  As well as discussing the challenges he had to overcome, he talks about how he decided the timing was right to go to market and lessons he learnt along the way. 

“For me, climbing Everest, crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a RIB or building businesses – it’s all very similar.  It’s about a defined vision and a team of highly motivated people working to achieve a common goal”

In this episode of the Dealmaker Series, KPMG host Jo Sheerin is joined by Martin Port, founder of workforce management technology platform, BigChange. They are also joined by Graham Pearce, TMT team lead in Corporate Finance, and Ekrem Shahin who supported on the majority share purchase from Boston-based investors, Great Hill Partners.

Every element of the BigChange deal was centred around forging relationships over many years. From cultivating connections with potential investors to aligning the management team, from briefing advisors to creating solid foundations with the chosen partner. Martin and his team always had an eye on creating strong foundations which, in no small part, contributed to the success of the deal.

We go behind the scenes to discover more about the deal.