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Dan and Stephen discuss the acquisition of a well-known name in the music industry, the first tenant at a new Leeds commercial development, and a partner of the Grand National.

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00:00The acquisition of a well-known name in the music industry, the first tenant at New Leeds

00:04Commercial Development, and a partner of the Grand National, featuring today's business

00:08briefing, sponsored by Shaw Book Bank.

00:10So, Donovan, you've got a well-known name to the musicians out there.

00:20I do.

00:21So, Funds Managed by HSG, which is a venture capital and private equity firm, have entered

00:26an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the music giant, Marshall Group, in a deal

00:31which values the company at 1.1 billion euros, and that deal marks HSG's largest investment

00:36in Europe to date.

00:37So, you'll probably see Marshall's amplifiers at concerts, or you might have one of their

00:41speakers.

00:42Obviously, a huge company in the music industry, very high-quality products, and the Marshall

00:46family will retain a stake of more than 20% in the company under the terms of the deal,

00:50which is good to see, because they've been family-owned for quite a while.

00:53They were founded in Cambridge back in 1962.

00:56The acquisition is expected to boost their long-term growth and unlock their full potential

01:00across the world, according to their chief executive, Jeremy DeMallard.

01:05Revenue at Marshall more than doubled from 2020 to 2024, reaching almost 400 million

01:10euros, and we can probably expect to see that grow even more in the years to come following

01:14this deal.

01:15Yeah, good stuff.

01:16Well, up in Yorkshire today, we've got news of the first tenant for the new commercial

01:21district at Ayr Park in Leeds.

01:23A law firm, Devonshire's, has agreed a deal for about 6,000 square foot at 3 South Book

01:28Street.

01:29The firm itself opened in Leeds in 2017, the company employs about 40 staff in the city.

01:34The office space is currently being renovated for Devonshire's, and they're hoping to move

01:38in to the new office in March.

01:40Now, Ayr Park, we've covered fairly regularly.

01:43It's a big new development for Leeds.

01:45A developer, Vast Dint UK's first two buildings provide about 190,000 square foot, so that's

01:51space for about 2,000 workers.

01:55Once complete, the South Book Street development will feature seven buildings in total, 700,000

02:00square foot of office space, so space for more than 10,000 workers, and that's in addition

02:05to new retail space and a multi-storey car park.

02:09You may remember it's the second major Ayr Park store we've brought to you in the last

02:13few days.

02:14Our colleague Ian Leach, the Yorkshire editor, was able to reveal on Friday that Evershed

02:19Sutherland is currently in talks over potentially taking office at Ayr Park as well, so a really

02:24busy time there for the commercial space.

02:25It'll be interesting to see what else follows.

02:27Moving into Liverpool now, The Art School, which is a fine dining restaurant in the Georgian

02:31quarter, is set to continue their partnership with the Jockey Club and the Grand National

02:36for the next three years, starting from April this year.

02:38I'm not sure if you've been to The Art School, but I actually went there for my 21st birthday.

02:42It's a very nice restaurant.

02:44The Art School's fine dining experience takes place in Topham House each day, where the

02:48restaurant is recreated for the weekend, this year from the 3rd to 5th of April at Aintree

02:52Raincourse.

02:53I think it's a great fit for a prestigious event to be served by such a high-class restaurant

02:58like The Art School.

02:59Paul Askew, who is the current chef patron, described it as the perfect pairing between

03:03two things that Liverpool can be very proud of.

03:06I think a big stay like the Grand National will be a great opportunity for Paul and his

03:09team to show off what they can do, at least for another three years as well, and maybe

03:14more.

03:15Last thing today, we've got a deal in the North East and Yorkshire.

03:19Wealth management firm Fairstone, who we've covered several times recently, has completed

03:24its latest acquisition.

03:25The Southern Ireland headquartered firm has completed a deal for Imagine Financial Planning,

03:30which actually joined its downstream buyout model in 2021.

03:35The deal brings total assets under management at Fairstone to more than £18 billion.

03:39It also supports the expansion of Fairstone's presence in Yorkshire and the North of England,

03:44which it said was a major strategic priority.

03:46The firm currently has 16 offices in the region and includes a key hub in Wakefield.

03:52Now, Fairstone's model, as we mentioned earlier, aims to unlock the full potential of firms

03:58by a period of growth and support following the initial joining of their model before

04:06the completion of the acquisition down the line.

04:08Obviously, this is just the latest in a series of acquisitions by them that we've covered,

04:12so it looks like that model is working well for them.

04:15Absolutely.

04:16Well, that's all from us today.

04:17If you want to find out about those stories and many more, visit insidermedia.com.

04:23You can also sign up for our newsletters and find out about upcoming events.

Watch: Insider's Business Briefing - 28th January 2025

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