Lumina Capital Advisers

Another fantastic Lumina Capital Advisers breakfast event at The Connaught Hotel in London yesterday where we discussed the key themes from our 2025 cross-border insights report covering #middleeast and #uk cross border M&A activity in a highly engaging and interactive session. A big thank you to all attendees and in particular Marcello Stroppa of Kent for providing such valuable insights particularly on our latest deal https://lnkd.in/eqE4xv9S and wider deal dynamics in the #GCC market from the perspective of a highly active multinational corporate.  Some key takeaways from the event: ✅ UK plc revenue contribution from MENA hit record levels in 2024 (21%) highlighting strong underlying regional market fundamentals and growth opportunities for UK companies in the region   ✅ 14% increase in UK to Middle East transactions in 2024: The Middle East remains a resilient, buoyant market and a global bright spot   ✅ In 2024 and for the first time ever, inbound deal volumes into MENA exceeded outbound volumes from the region, demonstrating a continued uptick in international investor confidence in the region   ✅ Regional Champions becoming Global Champions in key verticals aligned with wider regional Government diversification strategies – creating diversified global platforms to become global sector leaders. ✅ New sectors are emerging as the region matures: It is no longer just oil and gas leading the way, as sectors such as technology (particularly AI and related infrastructure) and consumer continue to boom   A link to the report is here: https://lnkd.in/d2G7p_CV Lumina Capital Advisers George Traub Andrew Nichol Ollie Macildowie Rick Pudner John Martin St.Valery OBE Guy Warrington #crossborder #mergers #acquisitions #UKMiddleEast

Thank you to all of Lumina Capital Advisers clients, partners, and friends who joined us for our 2025 cross-border M&A report release. Special thanks to our panelists Hesham Nass of The Kanoo Group and Louis Jacobs of RSK Group for their real time insights the emergence of regional and global champions and the key role of cross border M&A plays in both inbound and outbound strategy. Key takeways for the day: ✅ UK to Middle East deals up 14%: The Middle East continues to be a key destination for UK companies to deploy capital, with the number of deals rising 14% compared to 2023 ✅ UK plc MENA revenue up: At $14.9 billion, MENA revenue accounts for 21% of global revenues—the highest contribution to date—demonstrating the increasing importance of the market ✅ Private equity investment up: In 2024, private equity investments into MENA reached $4.2 billion, reflecting a 42% increase, with the region's returns continuing to attract international equity investors ✅ Emergence of global champions: We continue to see the growth of regional champions into global leaders, exporting GCC expertise internationally and leveraging knowledge from other markets Streamlining of regional groups: Many strategic groups are rationalizing their operations, focusing on their core competencies to thrive in an increasingly competitive market. This leads to a review of their wider portfolios to ensure efficient management and capital allocation. ✅ Joint Ventures (JVs): The balance of power has shifted; international parties no longer dictate the terms. Instead, it is about what each party can bring to the table as they seek to enter the market Guy Warrington Simon Penney CMG John Martin St.Valery OBE Rick Pudner Andrew Nichol Gareth Williams Ollie Macildowie Juel Chowdhury James Jarvis Saheta Ochani Rose Arnold David Stockton Nabeel Kazerooni

Lumina Capital Advisers is delighted to have acted as lead M&A adviser to the shareholders of Sudlows Consulting, A Kent Company on the sale of the business to Kent . The Sudlows and Kent teams were a pleasure to work with and the collaborative efforts on their part made for an efficient and pragmatic process. A big thank you to all the management and shareholders of both parties John Rippingale John Gilley Ben Jones Marcello Stroppa Phil Nield Chris Dummett and the Lumina team Juel Chowdhury and Saheta Ochani Andrew Nichol John Martin St.Valery OBE James Jarvis Gareth Williams Guy Warrington

Kent, a provider of engineering services, completed the acquisition of Sudlows Consulting, A Kent Company, a design and engineering firm specialising in data centres. Financial terms were not disclosed. Sudlows Consulting (led by John Rippingale) was advised by Lumina Capital Advisers and Gateley Legal. Kent (led by John Gilley, Ben Jones and Marcello Stroppa) was advised by Deloitte (led by Sam Surrey) and Addleshaw Goddard (led by Philip Dowsett). #MergersAcquisitionsDivestitures #Engineering #DataCenters

We are pleased to share that James Jarvis, Director at Lumina Capital Advisers, was recently featured in AGBI - Arabian Gulf Business Insight discussing the growing momentum in Gulf mid-market mergers and acquisitions. In the article, James provides valuable insights into how the region's maturing economy is creating new opportunities for mid-market businesses. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dCV48u2J #MergersAndAcquisitions #CrossBorder #MidMarket #CorporateFinance #LuminaCapitalAdvisers #AGBI

Delighted to welcome Ollie Macildowie and Darshita Kothari to our fast-growing Lumina Capital Advisers UK team as we continue to see strong cross-border transaction volumes between our core UK and Middle Eastern markets.

We’re delighted to announce the expansion of our London office with the addition of two new hires: Darshita Kothari, joining as Associate Director – Clients and Markets Ollie Macildowie, joining as Associate Director As the Middle East M&A market continues to capture global attention, we’re thrilled to share that 2025 has started on an incredible note, building on the momentum of a record-breaking 2024. These strategic hires reflect the growing demand we’re seeing from UK and European multinationals engaging in cross-border transactions across the Middle East, as well as from key Middle Eastern clients seeking unique, tailored access to the UK market. Darshita and Ollie bring a wealth of expertise and energy to our team, and we’re excited to have them on board as we continue to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients. George Traub Andrew Nichol Gareth Williams Guy Warrington Juel Chowdhury James Jarvis Saheta Ochani Rose Arnold

Talking M&A and the mega-deal ADQ - Aramex announcement with Richard Dean this morning on Dubai Eye 103.8 Business Breakfast. Great chat as ever and thank you for inviting me on the show. Things we discussed:   1) ADQ / Aramex exemplifies deal making confidence at the #SWF level, creating #regionalchampions in sectors that matter  2) And, beyond this, now turning regional champions into #globalchampions through patient, long term and capital intensive transformation 3) Within a backdrop of still challenging global growth dynamics - borrowing costs are impacting investment confidence 4) #UAE has been one of the leading global #dealmakers in the last year across core sectors as it seeks to embed its economic transformation plan eg ADNOC's $16bn takeover of Germany's Covestro 5) #Crossborder global deals creating an influx of innovation and skills into the region generating a positive talent cycle - but, for now, at a wage cost 6) It's not just mega-deals - activity across the board with $50m-$300m mid-market transactions the engine room of M&A as well as restructuring / bankruptcy led deals Brandy Scott Tom Urquhart Lumina Capital Advisers

As 2024 draws to a close we reflect on another successive #recordbreaking year for Lumina Capital Advisers with revenue growth up by 36% . Activity was driven by increasing deal sizes and the inherently greater complexity of cross-border transactions. Inbound interest into the #middleeast region continues to grow, as per our latest M&A survey which we released in October of this year.    Key contributors to our success this year included:   ✔ Increased two way transaction activity - from Mid-East clients into the #UK in sectors such as #energytransition, healthcare, engineering and project management and #digitaltransformation featuring high on the agenda. Our #London practice continues to demonstrate rapid growth now contributing c.50% of the firm’s revenues, encompassing a range of UK and European firms seeking to transact, reorganise or expand in the Middle East, together with regional clients seeking unique and tailored access to UK deals.    ✔ Regional M&A activity - driven by the #UAE continuing to build regional champions through consolidation in key sectors such as construction, #healthcare #infrastructure and #business services. #Saudi transactions centred around international interest in #jointventures and partnering to deliver skills and technologies for complex mega projects in #AI, digital transformation and advanced #manufacturing . While geopolitical factors and rising #interestrates had some impact on dealmaking, the M&A market in the Middle East remained a global brightspot.    ✔ #2025outlook - our pipeline is extremely strong and we increased our headcount across both London and Dubai this year.  70% of respondents to Lumina’s M&A survey expect more or the same levels of M&A in 2025 with the $30m-$300m mid-market deal space growing quickest. In 2025 we implement our strategy to double the size of our business through serving our key multinational clients active across the middle east region, and key regional conglomerates transacting in the UK and Europe.   ✔ A big thank you to our clients, partners and friends of the firm for their support as we continue to grow and thrive. From all of us at Lumina we wish you all a happy festive season, and a healthy and successful 2025.   Andrew Nichol Gareth Williams Guy Warrington Rick Pudner John Martin St.Valery OBE Juel Chowdhury James Jarvis Saheta Ochani Simon Penney CMG Rose Arnold

In Lumina Capital Advisers' recent M&A survey, we discussed the importance of regional champions within the Middle East's M&A landscape. In the second installment of our deep dive series, we sat down with David Stockton, Group CEO of Dulsco, to discuss the market, doing deals and the importance of an effective M&A strategy to drive growth. The full interview can be found here - https://lnkd.in/ggjY4Wkx Andrew Nichol, George Traub, Gareth Williams, Juel Chowdhury, Rose Arnold, Saheta Ochani, John Martin St.Valery OBE, Simon Penney CMG, Guy Warrington