Rooted in the region

Rick: Our core belief is that the Northwest is a big enough dealmaking market to warrant a dedicated regional focus. We’ve always maintained a strong, local team – currently around 20 Corporate Finance specialists, with deep ties to the business community here. There’s a huge population of outstanding £2m-20m EBITDA businesses that we want to support.

Nisha: This is about being present and building relationships over years. We believe it delivers greater value for businesses, for the local economy, and for KPMG itself.

We’re part of a nearly 200-person national corporate finance practice with deep sector expertise throughout. We could all work nationally, but we deliberately want to invest in this region, partnering sector specialists with longstanding local relationships, so clients get the best of both worlds: true sector insight and a diverse team that cares about the regional outcome. Manchester, and Liverpool have proud business cultures, and we see ourselves as part of that, not operating agnostic of region or parachuting in for a transaction.

Rick: What I believe sets us apart is this absolute focus on local deals. There’s a feeling that our market is moving towards a ‘sector first’ approach - local teams working on deals all over the country. But we’re resolutely Northwest-centric. The majority of our deals last year – 16 out of 21, with total EV of over £1bn – were with Northwest businesses.

Nisha: Competitors might claim a local presence, but often their teams are servicing multiple regions, lacking that rooted investment in the local economy. We have as much, if not more, sector experience than anyone through our national practice, including within our Northwest team, but we marry that with our strong local relationships, that our team are very proud of.

Rick: By living and working in the Northwest, understanding the market and nurturing relationships over several years, we help businesses prepare, grow, and realise value, far beyond just executing a sale. This means getting involved early, understanding sector nuances, benchmarking performance, and advising around value creation long before a deal is on the table. Clients get trusted advisers, not just dealmakers.

Nisha: There’s a real human dimension: selling a business or raising investment is a major life moment. Trust is everything. It’s emotional as well as financial. Because we know our clients and care about our local reputation, they receive advice that’s honest, unbiased, and tailored. The market here is tightly knit. Our reputation relies on every deal we do – what we do for one client reflects directly on what the next client can expect. We simply can’t afford to deliver anything less than integrity and excellence.

Nisha: Despite broader market softness – transaction volumes in the Northwest have generally dipped by 10% to 15% in the last year – we’ve just had our best year in over a decade, particularly in the £20m to £75 million deal range. Our locally-driven origination model means we’re constantly meeting new businesses, growing relationships, and building a robust pipeline. This focus provides some insulation from volatility, as we’re tapping into the energy and resilience of the regional mid-market.

Rick: We’re passionate about supporting the full spectrum of local businesses, not just the largest companies. Our KPMG Acceleris team, for example, focuses on smaller and earlier stage companies, helping them with fundraising and growth. This way, we’re not just ‘picking off’ the biggest opportunities when the time comes. We’re trying to play our part in nurturing local businesses, helping them survive and thrive throughout their whole lifecycle.

Nisha: We see ourselves as stewards of the local market. By hosting things like business breakfasts and networking events, running entrepreneur programmes, and connecting businesses at all stages, we’re trying to foster growth and collaboration. The collective success of our clients makes the entire region more resilient and dynamic.

Rick: One of my recent deals involved Arbtech, an environmental services company based in Chester, which we sold to Inflexion-backed Celnor. Our relationship started with a simple call and grew through a few informal meetings in a Chester pub – a luxury of being nearby. When it came time to sell the business, the owner chose us over other locally-based teams and sector-focused London advisers. He valued the KPMG brand, our regional focus, and our ability to build an execution team with regional presence, sector content and buyer network. The wider deal involved a local transaction services team and legal advisers, showcasing our connectivity and the links with the regional community that we bring to our clients.

Rick: Manchester and Liverpool are the heartbeat of the UK regional market. They’ve always been fiercely independent, collaborative, and resilient. We see it as our mission to invest here, to create value, and to prove that with the right commitment, a local strategy isn’t just viable, it’s superior.

Nisha: For us, it’s personal. We’re both proud to call the Northwest our home, and it shows in everything we do, from deal results to community programmes. Our success is intertwined with the fortunes of the region and its people. That’s why our strategy works, and why we believe it will keep delivering value for our clients for years to come.