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Brambles Industries has sold its Northern Hemisphere industrial services business to Harsco Corporation of the US for £133m.
30-Dec-2005

IFG Group has acquired Bank of Scotland Trust Company, the Jersey-based provider of trust and company administration services, for up to £6.8m.
29-Dec-2005

EFSIS, the Milton Keynes-based food safety inspection company, is to be acquired by SAI Global of Australia for about £5m.
29-Dec-2005

Rank has sold its Deluxe film processing business to MacAndrews & Forbes of the US for £433m, in order to focus on gambling and leisure.
29-Dec-2005

Cadbury Schweppes has sold Holland House, its US-based cooking wine business, to Mizkan Americas for £21m.
29-Dec-2005

Monstermob has acquired Mobicon, the Russian provider of content for mobile phones, for £16m.
29-Dec-2005

Multi Group is to acquire Global Medics, the provider of locum doctors to the NHS and the private sector with offices in London and Yorkshire, for £14m.
29-Dec-2005

Hilton is to sell its 400 international hotels to Hilton Hotels Corporation of the US for £3.3bn, in order to focus on its Ladbrokes betting division.
29-Dec-2005

WPP is to acquire Bridge Worldwide, the US marketing agency with 120 staff.
29-Dec-2005

Themutual.net is to acquire iD Factor, the Richmond-based online market research company, for up to £3m.
29-Dec-2005

Avecia is to sell Avecia Inkjet, the Manchester-based supplier of ink dyes with 340 staff, to Fuji Photo of Japan for £150m.
28-Dec-2005

Top Ten is to acquire Apollo Bingo, the operator of bingo clubs in Rhyl, Caernarfon and Blackpool, for £11m, taking its total estate to 41.
28-Dec-2005

Gala is to acquire the Avago TV gaming channel from YooMedia, and will rebrand it as Gala TV by the end of 2006.
28-Dec-2005

Unwins' administrators have sold 200 of its 350 off-licence outlets to Threshers, securing the future of up to 1,200 jobs.
28-Dec-2005

Neal's Yard Remedies, the chain of 23 natural health stores with about 200 staff, has been acquired by Peter Kindersley for undisclosed terms.
28-Dec-2005

Cadbury Schweppes is to sell its Grandma's Molasses business in the US to B&G Foods for £17m.
28-Dec-2005

Aegis is to acquire Roland Berger's Market Research in Germany for up to £3.7m.
28-Dec-2005

Brunner Mond, the Cheshire-based soda ash manufacturer, has been acquired by Tata Chemicals of India for £65m.
28-Dec-2005

Stead & Simpson, the shoe retailer with about 400 stores, has undergone a £51m management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland.
28-Dec-2005

Pernod Ricard is to sell three whisky brands and the Glen Grant distillery to Campari of Italy for £89m.
28-Dec-2005

Dowding & Mills, the engineering services group, is to be acquired by Rydenor Investments for about £30m.
28-Dec-2005

Bespak is to acquire King Systems Corporation, the US supplier of disposable face masks and airway tubes, for £54m.
28-Dec-2005

Thomas Walker has acquired Leslie Group, the Birmingham-based manufacturer of stamped brass and aluminium components, for £1.3m.
27-Dec-2005

Datamonitor is to acquire Life Science Analytics, the US-based primary life science database company.
27-Dec-2005

Dewhurst is to acquire Traffic Management Products, the Surrey-based supplier of parking and traffic control products, for up to £6.5m.
27-Dec-2005

Intertek has acquired KPMG Quality Registrars in India and the Middle East for £4.5m, in order to expand its systems certification business.
27-Dec-2005

Schofield Publishing has acquired SB Communications, the London-based specialist healthcare publisher, for undisclosed terms.
27-Dec-2005

AT Communications is to acquire T-Liaison, the virtual network operator, for £1.1m, in order to expand its IP managed services business.
27-Dec-2005

Hartley's Printing has acquired Wilprint Group for undisclosed terms, creating a new Cardiff-based printing group called HartleyWilprint with 50 staff.
27-Dec-2005

Lloyds British Testing, the West Midlands-based inspections and certification group with 250 staff, is to undergo a £3.8m management buy-out.
27-Dec-2005

Simclar is to acquire Litton Interconnect Technologies, the US electronics assembly company, for £16m.
27-Dec-2005

Bailey Teswaine has acquired Kedington NI, the Belfast-based cabling supplier with 35 staff, from BT for undisclosed terms.
22-Dec-2005

Torday & Carlisle has sold Solvitol, the Birtley-based manufacturer of household chemicals, to a new company called Fleetness 435 for an initial £3.3m.
22-Dec-2005

HR Owen is to sell five Volkswagen car franchises and one van franchise in northwest London to a management buy-out operating under the name of Citygate Automotive for £2.4m.
22-Dec-2005

Axon Group is to acquire TUI Consulting, the provider of SAP consulting services to US utilities and public sector organisations, for an initial £5.4m.
22-Dec-2005

Henderson Group is to sell Towry Law, the independent financial adviser and general insurance broker, to JS&P Holdings for £37m.
22-Dec-2005

Buckingham Bingo, the Manchester-based operator of ten bingo halls, is to be acquired by Alchemy Partners for £90m.
22-Dec-2005

BioProgress is to acquire Dexo, the French pharmaceuticals company, for £8m, and has also announced the formation of a generic medicines joint venture with Crescent Pharma.
22-Dec-2005

Scotmin Nutrition, the Ayr-based animal feeds company, has been acquired by Buccleuch Group of Selkirk for undisclosed terms.
22-Dec-2005

Arrk Product Development Group has acquired Jordans, the Havant-based automotive toolmaking company.
22-Dec-2005

Oxonica is to acquire Nanoplex Technologies, the US-based developer of nanoparticle-based detection systems for the healthcare and security markets with 17 staff.
21-Dec-2005

Premier Direct Group is to acquire Oriflame UK, the UK-based subsidiary of Swedish cosmetics group Oriflame Cosmetics, for a nominal sum.
21-Dec-2005

Wraith has acquired Office Space, the provider of office accommodation services in Monmouthshire, Hertfordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, for £0.2m.
21-Dec-2005

Television Corporation, the TV production company, is to be acquired by Tinopolis.
21-Dec-2005

Ramco Energy has sold Ramco Oil Services, the Aberdeen-based company with 180 staff worldwide, to a management buy-out for £14m.
21-Dec-2005

Lloyds TSB is to sell its Goldfish credit card business to Morgan Stanley of the US for £1bn.
21-Dec-2005

Unilever is to sell Mora, its Dutch snack foods business with annual sales of £70m, to Ad van Geloven for undisclosed terms.
21-Dec-2005

Cello Group has acquired Chiaros Holdings, the holding company for Labinah Management Training, for £4.1m.
20-Dec-2005

BSS Group has acquired A Warren & Sons, the supplier of industrial products to the construction industry with branches in Oldham, Birmingham, Leeds and East London, for £14m.
20-Dec-2005

Darchem Engineering, the aerospace company with about 600 staff in Stockton and Gloucester, has been acquired by Esterline Corporation of the US for £70m.
20-Dec-2005

Boxwood has sold Certainty Group, the Leeds-based support services and facilities management company with annual turnover of £20m, to a management buy-out.
20-Dec-2005

Carphone Warehouse is to acquire Onetel from Centrica for an initial £132m, as well as the UK fixed-line telecoms business of Tele2 for £8.7m.
20-Dec-2005

First Technology, the Surrey-based safety device engineering company, is to be acquired by Honeywell International of the US for £207m.
20-Dec-2005

Johnston Press has acquired Scotsman Publications for £160m, in order to expand its regional newspapers business.
20-Dec-2005

Inventive Leisure, the owner of Revolution vodka bars, is to be acquired by Alchemy Partners for £42m.
20-Dec-2005

Punch Taverns has sold 205 pubs to Petchey Group for £98m, leaving it with an estate of 9,500 outlets.
20-Dec-2005

Premier Research has acquired IMFORM, the German pharmaceutical services company with 144 staff, for up to £4.7m.
20-Dec-2005

Lookers is to acquire six car dealerships from HR Owen, including Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo sites in Colchester, Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, for about £3.4m.
19-Dec-2005

Amec has acquired Domec, the French heating, ventilation and air conditioning services company with 60 staff, for £0.4m.
19-Dec-2005

Homeserve has acquired Improveline, the Chiswick-based chain of six property repair branches with 320 staff, for an initial £14m.
19-Dec-2005

Filmnight has acquired Prime Time, the chain of 47 DVD stores, for about £3m, taking its total network to 99 company-owned stores and 120 franchised stores.
19-Dec-2005

Smith & Nephew and Beiersdorf of Germany have sold their BSN medical products joint venture to Montagu Private Equity for £698m.
19-Dec-2005

LDV, the Birmingham-based van manufacturer, has been acquired by US-based Sun Capital Partners and London-based EAC for an estimated £75m, which is expected to lead to the loss of 200 of the 1,200 jobs.
19-Dec-2005

Cyclacel, the Dundee-based pharmaceuticals company, is planning a reverse takeover of US-based Xcyte Therapies.
19-Dec-2005

Sepha, the Newtownards-based packaging equipment manufacturer with 15 staff, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Enterprise Equity.
16-Dec-2005

Corpora is to acquire Tokairo, the Milton Keynes-based supplier of document management technology, for £1.5m.
16-Dec-2005

Spirent is to sell HellermannTyton, the supplier of fastening, identification, protection and connectivity solutions for electrical and communications networks, to funds controlled by Doughty Hanson for £289m.
16-Dec-2005

Cookson Group is to sell its Laminates business, which supplies substrate materials for the manufacture of printed circuit boards, to Isola Group for £51m.
16-Dec-2005

Stagecoach has acquired Traction Group, the bus operator with services in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Tayside, for £26m.
16-Dec-2005

Touchstone is to acquire Landsteinar, the Jersey-based software consultancy with 15 staff, for £2.9m.
16-Dec-2005

Supporta is to acquire ILO, the domiciliary care company with eleven offices in the east of England, for an initial £4.9m.
15-Dec-2005

Persimmon is to acquire Senator Homes, the Carlisle-based housebuilder with sites in Dumfries, Lockerbie and Cumbria, for £25m.
15-Dec-2005

Cyberdyne Entertainment, the Bristol-based online betting company, has been acquired by DM for an initial £0.2m.
15-Dec-2005

Next Fifteen Communications is to acquire Credo Communications, the strategic communications consultancy with annual turnover of £0.3m, in order to expand its Bite Communications business.
15-Dec-2005

JT Atkinson & Sons has acquired Littlefairs Builders Merchants & Ironmongers, the operator of three branches in Kirkby Stephen, Appleby and Hawes, for undisclosed terms.
15-Dec-2005

Whittard of Chelsea, the tea and coffee retailer, has accepted a £21m takeover offer from Baugur.
15-Dec-2005

Sondex is to acquire AES, the US wireline toolmaker with 40 staff in Louisiana, for £7.9m.
15-Dec-2005

Aegis is to acquire Univero, the Scandinavian market research company, for £10m.
15-Dec-2005

Doncasters, the engineering and aerospace group with 25 factories and 4,500 staff, is to be acquired by Dubai International Capital for £700m.
15-Dec-2005

GUS has acquired PriceGrabber, the US-based online price comparison company, for £275m, in order to expand its Experian division.
15-Dec-2005

Puzzler Media, the puzzle magazines publisher, has been acquired by DC Thomson for £85m.
15-Dec-2005

Walmsley Furnishing, the Preston-based chain of 100 furniture stores, has been bought out of administration by a new company called Unibrook for undisclosed terms.
14-Dec-2005

Pentagon has acquired a Vauxhall car dealership in Mansfield from Hartwells, taking its total number of outlets to 14.
14-Dec-2005

Glisten has acquired Lyme Regis Fine Foods, the Hampshire-based fruit bars and cereals supplier with about 50 staff, for undisclosed terms.
14-Dec-2005

Vodafone is to acquire Telsim, the Turkish mobile phone operator, for £2.5bn.
14-Dec-2005

BT is to acquire Atlanet, the Italian telecoms company, from Fiat for £54m.
14-Dec-2005

Wood Group has sold its ProTech oil production technology business, which has 100 staff in Aberdeen, Norway and the US, to WellDynamics for an initial £14m.
13-Dec-2005

Waterman Group has acquired JP Envirosystems, the environmental management consultancy with offices in Sheffield and London, for an initial £0.3m.
13-Dec-2005

ClearDebt, the Manchester-based debt solutions company, is to be acquired by Carrwood in a £3m reverse takeover.
13-Dec-2005

Unidare is to sell Eland Cables, the electrical cables distribution company with sites in London and Doncaster, to a management team operating under the name of Codetrade for £4m.
13-Dec-2005

William Hill is to sell a further 48 betting shops to Tote for £20m, taking Tote's total estate to more than 500.
13-Dec-2005

Lucketts Travel is to acquire Worthing Coaches, creating a combined coach travel business with 44 coaches and annual turnover of £6.8m.
13-Dec-2005

Ultimate Leisure has acquired Prohibition, the operator of three bars in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, from Living Ventures for £2.7m.
12-Dec-2005

NBA Quantum is to acquire Taylor Rumford Consulting, the construction industry consultancy operating under the name of Dearden Associates, for up to £1.5m.
12-Dec-2005

Zenith Hygiene is to acquire GW Chemicals, the Yorkshire-based manufacturer of cleaning and hygiene products with about 90 staff at sites in Elland, Oldham, Stockport and Hertfordshire, for up to £6m.
12-Dec-2005

Ramesys, the educational software company with offices in Wolverhampton and Nottingham, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Lloyds TSB Development Capital.
12-Dec-2005

Dunlop GRG, the Manchester-based manufacturer of tanks for transporting fuel and water with 50 staff, has been acquired by Trelleborg of Sweden for undisclosed terms.
12-Dec-2005

Kerridge, the supplier of dealer management systems with offices in Hungerford, Bristol, Glasgow, Taunton and Telford, has been acquired by Automatic Data Processing of the US for £173m.
12-Dec-2005

Morgan Stanley is to acquire Advantage Home Loans, the Ellesmere Port-based mortgage arranging company with 150 staff, for undisclosed terms.
12-Dec-2005

Prime People is to acquire Macdonald & Company, the recruitment consultancy, in a £10m reverse takeover.
12-Dec-2005

Digital Classics is to acquire Box TV for £6m and NBD Holdings for £1.5m, in order to expand its TV production business.
12-Dec-2005

Furlong Hotels, the chain of three country hotels in Bath, Warwickshire and the Cotswolds, has been acquired by Dawnay Shore Hotels for £41m.
12-Dec-2005

Daily Mail & General Trust is to acquire Primelocation, the residential property website, for £48m.
12-Dec-2005

Arlington, the property fund management company, has been acquired by Macquarie Goodman of Australia for about £200m.
12-Dec-2005

Selwood has sold its Hampshire-based cabin and event hire business to Wernick Hire of Wickford for £1m.
09-Dec-2005

Inflexion Private Equity has backed a £15m management buy-out at Red Commerce, the London-based IT services company.
09-Dec-2005

Bodycote International has acquired Arthur Gordon Environmental Evaluators of Canada, in order to expand its environmental division.
09-Dec-2005

First Choice is to acquire Grand Expeditions, the US-based leisure travel group, from North Castle Partners for £54m, as well as US adventure travel company INTRAV for £37m.
09-Dec-2005

Taylowe, the Maidenhead-based packaging company with 150 staff, has undergone a management buy-out from TP8 for undisclosed terms, and is now looking to relocate the business to a purpose-built site.
09-Dec-2005

Rand Group has acquired Oliver Construction, the Immingham-based construction company with annual sales of about £10m.
09-Dec-2005

Lightly & Lightly is to merge with Hawley & Partners to create LHL Group, a combined Yorkshire-based building surveying and architectural practice with 40 staff.
09-Dec-2005

Titan Europe is to acquire NewCo SpA and Italtractor ITM, the manufacturers of frames and components for undercarriages with operations in Europe, North America, South America and China, for up to £20m.
08-Dec-2005

Civica is in negotiations to acquire Comino, the Buckinghamshire-based document management software company, for about £50m.
08-Dec-2005

XKO Group is to acquire Powerdebt, the Birmingham-based revenue assurance and debt management company.
07-Dec-2005

Canterbury Foods is to sell its meat products business to J&J Tranfield for £4.5m, including sites in Hull and Stoke.
07-Dec-2005

Macdonald Hotels is to acquire Edinburgh's Holyrood Hotel and the Cardrona Hotel, Golf & Country Club near Peebles for £34m, and £4m will be invested at the two sites.
07-Dec-2005

John Standing Outside Caterers, the Brighton-based catering company with 25 staff, has been acquired by Kent-based Big Fill for undisclosed terms.
07-Dec-2005

Century Subsea, the Aberdeen-based supplier of survey, positioning and subsea services with 90 staff, has been acquired by Geo ASA of Norway for about £12m, and is now planning to create 30 new jobs.
07-Dec-2005

Dermasalve Sciences, the manufacturer of toiletries for people with dry skin, is to float on Aim through a reverse takeover of cash shell Meon Capital.
07-Dec-2005

ITV is to acquire Friends Reunited, the online business that includes genealogy, dating and jobs web sites, for up to £175m.
07-Dec-2005

Carillion is to acquire Mowlem for £291m, creating a combined construction and support services group with 40,000 staff and annual sales of £4.1bn.
07-Dec-2005

Go-Ahead has acquired Birmingham Passenger Transport Services, the bus and coach operator, for up to £2m.
06-Dec-2005

Alloy Bodies, the Manchester-based manufacturer of bodies for vans and trucks with 100 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
06-Dec-2005

Software Solutions Partners has acquired Sectornet, the Buckinghamshire-based supplier of commercial insurance broking systems with annual turnover of £7.5m, for undisclosed terms.
06-Dec-2005

Retail Decisions is to acquire E Com Industries, the Australian gift card operator with 19 staff, for £13m.
06-Dec-2005

Corpora is to acquire Iora, the Basingstoke-based offline computer networking company, for £4m.
06-Dec-2005

Tate & Lyle is to acquire Continental Custom Ingredients of the US for £40m and Celaspinia Foods of Italy for £34m, in order to expand its food ingredients business.
06-Dec-2005

Electrium, the Cannock-based manufacturer of electrical installation systems with 700 staff, is to be acquired by Siemens of Germany for undisclosed terms.
06-Dec-2005

May Gurney has acquired Hawthorn, the Bedford-based project management company, for undisclosed terms.
06-Dec-2005

Wynnstay has acquired Quins Farm Supplies, the Powys-based supplier of animal nutrition products, for up to £0.4m, while its Young's Animal Feeds joint venture has acquired Dollin & Morris, the Staffordshire-based manufacturer of equine and bird foods.
05-Dec-2005

Yule Catto has finalised the sale of its Autoclenz car valeting and vehicle preparation business to Autoclenz Holdings for £18m.
05-Dec-2005

Portrait Software has acquired Quadstone, the supplier of customer analytics software with 38 staff in London, Edinburgh and the US, for an initial £3.2m.
05-Dec-2005

Murray International Metals, the metals trading firm with 60 staff in Scotland, is to be sold to US private equity group Jefferies Capital Partners for £112m.
05-Dec-2005

RDF Media is to acquire IWC Media, the Scottish TV production company, for £14m.
05-Dec-2005

Sabre Triad, the Preston-based flexible packaging manufacturer with 45 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
05-Dec-2005

Sarnatech BNL, the plastic bearings manufacturer with 127 staff and a factory in Knaresborough, has been acquired by Plastics Capital for undisclosed terms.
05-Dec-2005

Aquilo has sold its AccidentCare membership services business to Broker Assistance for £0.4m, as part of on ongoing partnership between the two companies in the provision of claims handling, credit hire and credit repair services.
02-Dec-2005

Spirit Group, the chain of 1,832 pubs, is to be acquired by Punch Taverns for £2.7bn, while Punch has announced the sale of 203 pubs to Admiral Taverns for £40m.
02-Dec-2005

Wagon has acquired FKT, the German manufacturer of automotive sun blinds and cargo management systems with 115 staff, for an initial £4m.
02-Dec-2005

Travelzest is to acquire Best of Morocco, the tour operator specialising in tailor-made holidays to Morocco, for £2.7m.
02-Dec-2005

Metalrax has acquired Stackright Building Systems, the supplier of storage and container units to the construction industry with 130 staff at sites in the Midlands and the North West, for an initial £4m.
02-Dec-2005

Danwood Group has acquired Grampian Business Products, the Aberdeen-based supplier of digital printers, for about £4m.
02-Dec-2005

Fraikin has bought the Coventry-based commercial vehicle division of Lex Transfleet from RAC for undisclosed terms, which will involve the transfer of 457 staff at 15 rental centres and six maintenance sites across the country.
02-Dec-2005

Dewhirst Accessories, the Blyth-based gift pack manufacturer with 120 staff, has undergone a management buy-in.
02-Dec-2005

Greatfleet, the London-based financial recruitment company trading as Fleet Search, has been acquired by Longbridge International in a reverse takeover.
01-Dec-2005

Diploma has acquired HKX, the US supplier of hydraulic system kits with 27 staff, for up to £7m.
01-Dec-2005

PD Ports, the operator of Teesport and the port of Hartlepool, has accepted a £246m takeover offer from Endeavour Ports of Australia.
01-Dec-2005

Smoke & Mirrors has acquired Red-Post Production, the London-based visual effects company with 20 staff, for about £1m.
01-Dec-2005

Rentokil Initial is to sell Initial Style Conferences, the operator of 29 training and conference venues, to Alternative Hotel Group for £325m.
30-Nov-2005

Intertek has acquired Lintec Testing Services for £3m and Lubricant Quality Scan for £0.4m, in order to expand its marine fuel and lubricant testing business.
30-Nov-2005

Trinity Mirror has acquired Paldonsay, the parent company of online recruitment business High Street Direct, for an initial £3.3m.
29-Nov-2005

PlusNet has acquired Parbin, the Harrow-based internet service provider that trades as Metronet, for £1.7m.
29-Nov-2005

Vp has acquired Dudley Vale, the supplier of piling equipment with sites in Croydon and Oldham, from GE Equipment Services for £3.5m.
29-Nov-2005

Begbies Traynor has sold DW Weaver, the milk haulage company with 135 staff in Endon, Nantwich, Chester and Ashbourne, out of administration to a management team.
29-Nov-2005

Spirit Group has sold ten large London pubs to Capital Pub Company for £31m.
29-Nov-2005

Detica has acquired Evolution Consulting, the IT services company with 105 staff, for £8.5m.
29-Nov-2005

Hat Pin is to acquire a 70% stake in Saxton Bampfylde Hever, the executive recruitment company, in a £4.9m reverse takeover.
29-Nov-2005

P&O, the container ports and ferries group, has accepted a £3.3bn takeover offer from DP World of Dubai.
29-Nov-2005

Sweetmans Select Savouries, the Swansea-based bakery, has been bought out of administration by Cleary Foods Group for undisclosed terms, saving more than 40 jobs.
28-Nov-2005

William Halley Group, the Dundee-based textiles supplier with 40 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
28-Nov-2005

Morethanhotels has acquired Foremost Hotels, the operator of three Express by Holiday Inn hotels, for undisclosed terms.
28-Nov-2005

Speciality Retail Group has undergone a £30m management buy-out backed by Gresham Private Equity, and is now planning to expand its Suits You and Racing Green stores.
28-Nov-2005

Syndicate Asset Management is to acquire Investment Management Holdings for about £7.6m.
28-Nov-2005

Shed Productions is to acquire Ricochet, the Brighton-based TV production company, for £30m.
28-Nov-2005

Man Group has sold the European operations of the recently-acquired Refco brokerage business to Marathon Asset Management of the US for undisclosed terms.
28-Nov-2005

Stralfors UK has acquired DPS Direct Mail of Orpington for £8m, creating a combined transactional printing business with annual turnover of £28m.
25-Nov-2005

Wayzgoose, the Lincolnshire-based greetings cards and general commercial printer with 60 staff, has announced a management buy-in for undisclosed terms.
25-Nov-2005

Widney has bought the Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Wolverhampton car parts factories of Vickers Pressings out of administration, securing the future of 250 jobs.
25-Nov-2005

Mondas has acquired Blue Curve, the London-based software solutions company, for up to £3m.
25-Nov-2005

GSH Group has acquired De Jongh Groep, the Dutch installation and renovation company with 37 staff, for £0.8m.
25-Nov-2005

Aegis Group has acquired Plus REMARK, the Turkish market research company, for £4m.
25-Nov-2005

SEAC, the Leicester-based fasteners manufacturer with 50 staff, has undergone a management buy-out from Halma.
25-Nov-2005

Persimmon has agreed to acquire Westbury, the Cheltenham-based housebuilder, for £643m.
25-Nov-2005

Restaurant Group is to sell 53 of its 58 Caffe Uno outlets to Paramount Restaurants for £33m, and the remaining five will be rebranded.
24-Nov-2005

Erinaceous has acquired Mount Street Holdings, the property services company with 700 staff, from Regis Capital for up to £56m.
24-Nov-2005

ILX Group is to acquire Mount Lane Training & Implementation Solutions, the Reading-based training company, for an initial £2.2m.
24-Nov-2005

AssetCo Group, the asset management services company with 402 staff in Belfast, Reading, London and Papworth, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
23-Nov-2005

Sagitta Asset Management has been acquired by Fleming Family & Partners for undisclosed terms, with the transfer of ten staff.
23-Nov-2005

ADVFN is to acquire Equity Holdings, the equity research company, for up to £1.5m.
22-Nov-2005

Stagecoach is to sell its New Zealand bus and ferry operations to Infratil for about £100m.
22-Nov-2005

IMI has acquired GT Development Corporation, the US supplier of pneumatic and electronic controls, for about £15m.
22-Nov-2005

Pumptools has acquired Strata Oil Tools, the Aberdeen-based supplier of downhole systems and tools, for undisclosed terms.
22-Nov-2005

Cadbury Schweppes is to sell its European drinks division, which has 3,000 staff in 30 countries, to private equity firms Blackstone Group and Lion Capital for £1.27bn.
22-Nov-2005

Aspen Clean Fuels is to merge with Shield Capital in a £14m deal, creating a new group called Aspen Clean Energy.
22-Nov-2005

GKN has acquired QDS Henschen, the US manufacturer of wheel hubs with 110 staff, from the Lakin Manufacturing Corporation for £6m.
21-Nov-2005

Vickers Pressings Tolwood Automotive has sold its Newton Aycliffe-based car parts business out of administration, securing 125 jobs, and it will now trade as Tolwood Technologies.
21-Nov-2005

Finsbury Food Group is to acquire Glasgow-based cake manufacturers California Cake and Campbell's Cake for £7.4m, as well as United Central Bakeries of Edinburgh for £2.5m.
21-Nov-2005

Bank Restaurant Group is to acquire five Zinc restaurants from Conran Holdings for about £4m, and is now seeking a more substantial acquisition.
21-Nov-2005

Marylebone Warwick Balfour is to sell a five-star hotel on Glasgow's Argyle Street to WG Mitchell Group for £52m.
21-Nov-2005

Vernalis is to acquire Cita NeuroPharmaceuticals, the Canadian neurology and central nervous system disorders specialist, for up to £37m.
21-Nov-2005

Red Bee Media is to acquire Australian Caption Centre, the subtitling and video services company, for £3.2m.
21-Nov-2005

PNC Telecom is to acquire SIM4Travel, the supplier of mobile phone SIM cards to travellers, in a £2.4m reverse takeover.
18-Nov-2005

ArmorGroup International has acquired Phoenix CP, the Hereford-based provider of close-protection training courses, for £4.2m.
18-Nov-2005

MCG Graphics, the package printing company with 105 staff in Hull, London and Cumbria, has been acquired by Southern Graphic Systems of the US for undisclosed terms.
18-Nov-2005

Shore To Shore has acquired John Hampden Packaging, the folding carton company, and Shore to Shore will transfer its own Nottingham division to the JHP site in Derbyshire.
18-Nov-2005

EndX, the Oldham-based supplier of gaming management software with 35 staff, has been acquired by Progressive Gaming of the US for £15m.
18-Nov-2005

Cavendish Grant is to merge with Chartwell to create a combined Bath-based financial services group with 60 staff.
18-Nov-2005

XenoSense, the Belfast-based biotechnology company with seven staff, has been acquired by Biacore International of Sweden.
17-Nov-2005

Strategic Thought is to acquire Line International, the Bristol-based risk management software company, for £1.2m.
17-Nov-2005

United Business Media has acquired Black Hat, the operator of IT security conferences in the US, Europe and Asia, for £6m.
17-Nov-2005

Wyndeham Press has acquired Connect Digital Imaging, the Manchester-based flexographic printing company with 38 staff, for an initial £1m.
17-Nov-2005

Seabay has acquired Quickfish, the Grimsby-based seafood importer and distributor, for undisclosed terms.
17-Nov-2005

Systems Geotechnique has acquired Fondedile Foundations from Sir Robert McAlpine for undisclosed terms, and the business will move from Hemel Hempstead to a new office in Alton, Hampshire.
17-Nov-2005

VolkerWessels has acquired Laser Holdings, the civil engineering contractor with 250 staff, for undisclosed terms.
17-Nov-2005

BPB, the plasterboard company, has accepted a £3.9bn takeover offer from Saint Gobain of France.
17-Nov-2005

Begbies Traynor has acquired W3 Debt Solutions, the Chorley-based debt company with 15 staff, for an initial £1.4m.
16-Nov-2005

Language Line, the language interpreting service with about 670 translators and interpreters, is to be acquired by a US-based company of the same name for about £23m.
16-Nov-2005

Vantis has acquired the non-audit business of Harrow-based Booth Anderson Chester for an initial £0.6m.
15-Nov-2005

Spice Holdings has acquired Kemac Services, the Leicestershire-based water services company, for £6.2m.
15-Nov-2005

Barchester Healthcare has bought Manor House Nursing Home, the Stamford Bridge-based care home with 200 staff, for undisclosed terms.
15-Nov-2005

Rexam is to acquire Precise Technology, the US plastic packaging manufacturer with 1,700 staff, for £148m.
15-Nov-2005

Umeco has acquired Aeromedic Innovations, the Uxbridge-based supplier of on-board medical kits and therapeutic oxygen equipment, for £2.1m.
14-Nov-2005

Hendy Group has acquired Exeter Car Supermarket in a multi-million pound deal.
14-Nov-2005

Southern Cross has acquired the Ashbourne chain of nursing homes for about £85m, taking its total chain to 573 homes.
14-Nov-2005

Mappin & Webb, the chain of 32 jewellery stores, is expected to be acquired by Baugur, the Icelandic owner of the Goldsmiths chain, for £20m.
14-Nov-2005

Sage Group is to acquire Adonix, the French business management software company, for £78m.
11-Nov-2005

Dassett Process Engineering is to merge with BottleTech Solutions, the Cheltenham-based manufacturer of bagging and automation equipment.
11-Nov-2005

Andy Thornton, the West Yorkshire-based interior design and architectural salvage company with 190 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
11-Nov-2005

Helix RDS, the Aberdeen-based oil and gas consultancy with 180 staff, has been acquired by Cal Dive International of the US for £18m.
11-Nov-2005

Kingston Communications, the Hull-based telecoms company with a market valuation of £345m, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed company.
11-Nov-2005

Wilsanco Plastics, the Dungannon-based packaging manufacturer with 200 staff, has been acquired by Greiner Packaging of Austria for undisclosed terms.
11-Nov-2005

Capita Group has acquired Lonsdale Travel, the Derby-based travel management company with 220 staff, for £10m.
10-Nov-2005

AT Communications is to acquire Sterry Group, the voice and data reseller with 156 staff at offices in Stockport and Welwyn Garden City, for £6.3m.
10-Nov-2005

Halma has acquired Texecom, the Manchester-based manufacturer of security sensor and alarm products, for £26m.
10-Nov-2005

Daily Mail & General Trust has acquired Expressions of Culture, the US-based exhibitions company, for £2.4m.
10-Nov-2005

Trelleborg of Sweden has acquired Dunlop GRG Holdings, the Manchester-based manufacturer of large flexible containers with 50 staff, as well as bearings manufacturer Andre Structural Bearings.
10-Nov-2005

Dawson & Son, the Leeds-based industrial brush manufacturer with 40 staff, has been acquired Koti Group of the Netherlands.
10-Nov-2005

Talarius has acquired Blackheath Leisure, the London-based chain of 24 gaming centres, for £19m.
09-Nov-2005

Smiths Group has acquired LiveWave, the US developer of software systems that link sensors and video cameras to remote viewing stations, for £10m.
09-Nov-2005

Whitecroft Lighting, the Manchester-based lighting company with 280 staff, has been acquired by Fagerhult of Sweden for £21m.
09-Nov-2005

DeVries has bought the Welptons car dealership in Hessle out of administration, while the bodyshop, parts and Hyundai operations of the Welpton Group have been acquired by Beerhouse Self Drive.
09-Nov-2005

Fuller Smith & Turner has acquired George Gale & Co, the Hampshire brewer with 111 pubs, for £92m.
09-Nov-2005

Polymer Laboratories, the Shropshire-based scientific instruments company with 160 staff, has been acquired by Varian of the US for £24m.
09-Nov-2005

Vp has acquired Trax Portable Access, the Worksop-based supplier of portable roads and barriers, for an initial £11m.
08-Nov-2005

Lighthouse Group has acquired Carrwood Barker, the firm of 40 independent financial advisers with offices in Manchester and Milton Keynes, for an initial £3.3m.
08-Nov-2005

Quantica has sold the goodwill of its Construction People Recruitment Solutions business to management for a nominal sum.
08-Nov-2005

Kewill Systems has acquired Interchain Holding, the developer of supply chain management software with 100 staff at offices in Northampton, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, for an initial £7.6m.
08-Nov-2005

Asfare Group has acquired Todd Research, the Chelmsford-based supplier of x-ray equipment to intercept suspect mail, for an initial £1.7m.
08-Nov-2005

Microgen has acquired Milvus Software, the developer of banking software with offices in Guernsey, Barnstaple and Bracknell, for £2.5m.
08-Nov-2005

Noble Investments is planning to acquire Baldwins, the London-based coin dealer and auctioneer, for £4.5m.
07-Nov-2005

Autonomy is to acquire Verity, the US supplier of information handling software, for £282m.
07-Nov-2005

Feather & Black, the furniture retailer, has been bought out of administration by Wade Furniture for undisclosed terms, and Wade plans to double the 22-strong chain over the next four years.
07-Nov-2005

Aegis Defence Services has acquired Rubicon International Services, the security risk management company, for undisclosed terms.
07-Nov-2005

WPP has acquired an 80% stake in Studiocom, the US-based digital marketing services agency with 55 staff, in order to expand its VML subsidiary.
04-Nov-2005

BT has acquired CARA Group, the network services company with 134 staff in Ireland and Northern Ireland, in order to expand its BT Ireland subsidiary.
04-Nov-2005

Aegis Group has acquired Planete Interactive and Webcontents, the French digital marketing agencies, for up to £6m.
04-Nov-2005

Humberts, the nationwide firm of estate agents and chartered surveyors with 39 offices, is to be acquired by London-based Farley Group in a £1.8m reverse takeover.
04-Nov-2005

Garden House Press, the London-based commercial printer, has undergone a management buy-in.
04-Nov-2005

Chiron, the vaccines manufacturer with 600 staff in Speke, is to be acquired by Novartis, after the Swiss company offered $5bn for the remaining 58% stake.
04-Nov-2005

Fidelity Systems has acquired Carr Cash Registers, the Northampton-based cash register company, for less than £0.2m.
04-Nov-2005

Jelf Group has acquired Farndale Hammond (Healthwise), the Ringwood-based healthcare benefits consultancy, for undisclosed terms.
03-Nov-2005

News International has acquired Propertyfinder, the online classified advertising business, for £14m.
03-Nov-2005

Pentagon has acquired two Vauxhall car dealerships in Sheffield, increasing its total number of outlets to 13.
03-Nov-2005

Telecity is to acquire Redbus Interhouse, the data centre operator, for about £59m.
03-Nov-2005

White Young Green is to acquire Doy Webster, the London-based mechanical and electrical consultancy, for up to £2.5m.
03-Nov-2005

P&O is to sell its cold logistics business, including storage and trucking operations in the US, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, to Versacold of Canada for £183m.
03-Nov-2005

Lafarge has acquired Port Land Cement, the Sittingbourne-based cement importer, for undisclosed terms.
03-Nov-2005

Wolseley has acquired William Wilson, the plumbing and heating products distributor with 600 staff at 45 branches in Scotland and the north of England, for £81m.
02-Nov-2005

Blueheath has acquired AC Ward & Son, the Thurrock-based delivered wholesaler, for up to £3m.
02-Nov-2005

Premier Foods has acquired Cauldron Foods, the Bristol-based meat-free products manufacturer with 215 staff, from Rayner & Co for £27m.
02-Nov-2005

Intertek is to acquire Automotive Research Laboratory, the US-based automotive fuels testing company with 144 staff, from PerkinElmer for £20m.
02-Nov-2005

Apace Media has acquired a 75% stake in Steadfast Television, the independent TV production company.
02-Nov-2005

Centrom has acquired Axcelia, the Hampshire-based software and IT services company, for £1m.
02-Nov-2005

Brandon Hire has acquired the tool hire business of Light Hire for £0.5m, including branches in Exeter, Exmouth and Okehampton.
02-Nov-2005

Brambles Foods has acquired Harry Mason, the London-based sandwich supplier, which should double its annual turnover to £20m.
02-Nov-2005

Hitchen Foods, the Wigan-based supplier of prepared vegetables and salads with 750 staff, has been acquired by Geest for £44m.
02-Nov-2005

Umeco is to raise £48m in a rights issue to fund acquisitions and the expansion of its aerospace parts factories and warehouses, and has also announced the acquisition of Provest of Italy for £14m.
02-Nov-2005

BT has acquired Total Network Solutions, the Oswestry-based networking company with 92 staff and annual turnover of £14m.
01-Nov-2005

Neteller has acquired Netinvest and its Netbanx subsidiary, the Cambridge-based payment service provider, from Transact Group for £12m.
01-Nov-2005

O2, the mobile phone operator, has accepted a £17.7bn takeover bid from Telefonica of Spain.
01-Nov-2005

John David Group has bought Allsports out of administration for £18m, and is expected to keep 111 of the sports stores with an option on the remaining 67.
01-Nov-2005

Vodafone is to sell its Swedish mobile phone operation to Telenor of Norway for £704m.
01-Nov-2005

Photo-Me International, the photo booth operator, has bought the Wholesale Lab Division of Agfa Photo out of administration for £6.1m.
01-Nov-2005

Telephone Maintenance Group has acquired Westcom Technical Services, the telephone systems specialist, for £0.9m.
31-Oct-2005

PSD Group is to acquire Odgers, Ray & Berndtson, the executive search firm with 230 staff at seven offices, for an initial £23m.
31-Oct-2005

Amec has acquired Compagnie Industrielle de Montage et d'Entretien, the French nuclear technical services company with 160 staff.
31-Oct-2005

SMC Group is to acquire DTR:UK, the architecture and design company with offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham, for an initial £1.2m.
31-Oct-2005

ARM has acquired Keil, the provider of software development tools for the microcontroller market with 23 staff.
31-Oct-2005

Alexandra has acquired de Baer, the supplier of tailored corporate clothing, and its UK-based subsidiary Rimac for £4.5m.
31-Oct-2005

Trutex, the Clitheroe-based supplier of school wear with annual turnover of about £14m, has undergone a management buy-out.
31-Oct-2005

Mezzo Studios has acquired Keyframe, the Leeds-based animation, graphics and new media specialist, for undisclosed terms.
31-Oct-2005

Graham's Dairies has acquired Scottish Milk Dairies from First Milk for undisclosed terms, after rival firm Robert Wiseman dropped its bid.
31-Oct-2005

Noble Fund Managers has acquired Sitka, the London-based development capital firm, for undisclosed terms.
31-Oct-2005

Peacocks, the Cardiff-based chain of 843 discount clothing and fragrance stores, is to undergo a £404m management buy-out.
31-Oct-2005

Dalgleish, the property agent with 93 staff, is set to be acquired by CB Richard Ellis for £27m.
31-Oct-2005

ERM, the environmental consultancy, is to be acquired by Bridgepoint for £302m.
31-Oct-2005

GUS has sold Wehkamp, its Dutch home shopping business, to Industri Kapital for £265m.
31-Oct-2005

Genus is to acquire Sygen International, the Oxfordshire-based pig breeding company, for £187m.
31-Oct-2005

Pro-Bel has acquired Vistek Electronics, the supplier of television signal equipment, for £8.5m.
31-Oct-2005

Avecia is to sell its pharmaceutical synthesis business to Nicholas Piramal India for £9.5m, involving the transfer of 350 staff at sites in Huddersfield, Grangemouth, Billingham and the US.
28-Oct-2005

Nottingham Volkswagen has acquired the Newbolds Garage in Mansfield, and has also announced plans to relocate one of its Nottingham sites from Vernon Road to Priory Garage in Daybrook.
28-Oct-2005

Baylea Homecare, the Hull-based care home operator with 70 staff, has been acquired by Springfield Homecare of Leeds for undisclosed terms.
28-Oct-2005

Bioquell has acquired Laboratory Accreditation Services and TRL Compliance Services for £0.3m, in order to expand its Cape Engineering testing services business.
27-Oct-2005

Centaur has acquired two logistics magazines - Supply Chain Business and Logistics Europe - from UK Transport Press for £0.3m.
27-Oct-2005

Laird Group has acquired Melcor Corporation, the US supplier of thermoelectric modules, and its Chinese subsidiary Melcor Hua Yua from Fedders Corporation for £10m.
27-Oct-2005

Sovereign Oilfield has acquired Serco SA, the French oilfield services company, for £1m.
27-Oct-2005

Calyx has acquired ITS Technology Services, the IT infrastructure services company, for £2.5m.
27-Oct-2005

Calypso, the Wrexham-based soft drinks manufacturer with 180 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
27-Oct-2005

Abacus Group is to acquire Deltron Electronics, the supplier of electromechanical components, for £28m.
27-Oct-2005

Marconi is to sell its telecoms equipment and international services operations to Ericsson for about £1.2bn, and the remaining Marconi business, with 2,00 staff, will be renamed Telent.
26-Oct-2005

Profile Group of Companies, the glazing and seating company, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms and will now relocate ten staff from Derby to Castle Donington.
26-Oct-2005

Wolseley has acquired Encon, the insulation products distributor with 22 branches and 550 staff, for £140m.
25-Oct-2005

Campbell Dallas is to merge with MacMillan & Co of Glasgow, creating a combined accountancy group with annual turnover of more than £8m.
25-Oct-2005

Acordis, the Grimsby-based fibre manufacturer with 235 staff, has been bought out of administration by a management team and a consortium of private investors for £12m, and the business will be renamed Worldwide Fibres.
25-Oct-2005

Novera Energy has announced that Novera Macquarie Renewable Energy has acquired 7MW of landfill gas assets in Norfolk for £11m.
24-Oct-2005

Cromer Crab Company of Norfolk and Anchor Seafoods of West Sussex have been acquired by Fishery Products International of Canada for £18m.
24-Oct-2005

Paladin Resources, the oil production company, is to be acquired by Talisman of Canada for £1.2bn.
24-Oct-2005

Johnsons Cars has acquired the Asgard Volvo car dealerships in Stourbridge and Solihull for undisclosed terms, taking its total network to 16.
24-Oct-2005

Ncipher has acquired Abridean, the US identity management company, for up to £11m.
24-Oct-2005

Hill Station is to acquire Loseley Dairy Ice Cream of Cwmbran and Granelli McDermott of Cheshire for £2m.
24-Oct-2005

BSkyB is to acquire Easynet, the internet service provider, for £211m, in order to form a new Sky Broadband division.
24-Oct-2005

Little Chef, the chain of 235 roadside restaurants, has been acquired by the founders of the Out of Town Restaurant Group for £52m.
24-Oct-2005

Wilmington Group has acquired Ark Group, the London-based publishing and conferences company, for an initial £5.4m.
21-Oct-2005

Low & Bonar has bought assets of Threshold Floorings, the manufacturer of flooring products, out of administration for £0.1m.
21-Oct-2005

Brian Jones & Associates, the Hertford-based polyurethane chemicals distributor, has been acquired by IMCD, the Dutch company that owns Honeywill & Stein of Sutton, Surrey.
21-Oct-2005

ICL Imaging, the Birmingham-based display printing company, has undergone a management buy-out.
21-Oct-2005

Steam Packet Company, the Isle of Man passenger shipping company, has been acquired by Macquarie Bank of Australia for £225m.
20-Oct-2005

Elementis is to sell Linatex, its Yateley-based industrial rubber belting business, to Navis Capital Partners for £18m.
20-Oct-2005

Ashtead Group has acquired Northridge Equipment Services, the US-based equipment rental company with five depots in California, for £40m.
19-Oct-2005

Pipex Communications has acquired Freedom to Surf, the St Albans-based internet service provider, for £10m.
19-Oct-2005

Sporting Index, the spread betting company, has been acquired by private equity firm HgCapital for £76m.
19-Oct-2005

Bank of New York is to acquire 80% of Alcentra, the London-based fund manager, for an estimated £172m.
19-Oct-2005

Redbus Film Distribution has been acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment of Canada for £20m.
19-Oct-2005

Bridgewell has bought the UK equity capital markets operation of US-based Robert W Baird for almost £10m.
18-Oct-2005

Loch Fyne Restaurants, the chain of 25 seafood restaurants and five Le Petit Blancs, has undergone a management buy-out for £22m.
18-Oct-2005

Support in Sport has acquired Palmyra, the Cumbria-based synthetic carpets manufacturer, creating a new group called SIS Manufacturing.
18-Oct-2005

Dairy Crest is to acquire the London Food Service business of Arla Foods, which includes food distribution sites in Ruislip, Bloomsbury and Nine Elms, for £4m.
17-Oct-2005

Aegis Group has acquired Just Media, the London-based media planning and buying agency, for up to £10m.
17-Oct-2005

Stanley Leisure has sold its Stanley Entertainment online casino business to Leisure & Gaming for £1.9m.
17-Oct-2005

Premier Foods is to sell Jonker Fris, the Dutch canned fruit and vegetable supplier with gross assets of £17m, to NPM Capital.
17-Oct-2005

Simply Go, the Cwmbran-based sandwich filling manufacturer, has been bought out of administration by a former management team, securing the future of 50 of the 200 jobs.
17-Oct-2005

Erinaceous has acquired PPH Commercial, the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire-based property agent with 53 staff, for undisclosed terms.
17-Oct-2005

Gateley Wareing is to merge with Henderson Boyd Jackson to create a combined law firm called HBJ Gateley Wareing with offices in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester and Nottingham.
17-Oct-2005

Experian has acquired Prediction Analytics, the US retail performance consultancy, in order to expand its Business Strategies division.
17-Oct-2005

Leeds Group has sold Leeds Leasing, its equipment leasing division, to Bibby Asset Finance for £5m.
17-Oct-2005

Emap has acquired Worth Global Style Network, the London-based internet fashion news and trends company with 150 staff, for £140m.
17-Oct-2005

Somerfield, the chain of 1,300 supermarkets, is to be acquired by a consortium led by Apax Partners for £1.1bn.
17-Oct-2005

Celesio is to buy 111 Cohens and Scholes pharmacies in the north-west, Midlands and Yorkshire for up to £130m, in order to expand its Lloydspharmacy chain.
17-Oct-2005

Books for Students, the Warwick-based book distribution business with more than 200 staff, has been bought out of administration by AT Little & Sons.
14-Oct-2005

Ovenden Papers has acquired Davies Harvey & Murrell, creating a combined paper merchanting group with 66 staff.
14-Oct-2005

Premier Foods has sold its Typhoo Tea business to Apeejay Tea of India for £80m, and Apeejay will establish a UK headquarters at the factory in Moreton, Wirral.
14-Oct-2005

Edinburgh Woollen Mill has acquired Hector Russell, the highland dress company with four stores.
14-Oct-2005

Select Hardware has acquired Cardiff-based Basic Hardware and Maxi-Pax for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its hardware products wholesaling business.
14-Oct-2005

Lookers has acquired APEC, the Bristol-based automotive braking parts distributor with 50 staff, for £9.2m.
13-Oct-2005

Broker Network Holdings has acquired THB Northern of Leeds, in order to expand its network of independent community insurance brokers.
13-Oct-2005

Highway Insurance Holdings has acquired MRB Insurance Brokers, the Romford-based personal lines intermediary that trades as 1st Quote, for an initial £6.6m.
13-Oct-2005

Lyceum Group has sold three bars at Liverpool's Albert Dock to Lancashire-based JI Entertainment, in a deal estimated at more than £3m.
13-Oct-2005

Toumaz Technology, the semiconductor design company, is to be acquired by Nanoscience in a £18m reverse takeover.
13-Oct-2005

Terra Firma is to sell 11 cinemas to Cinema Holdings of Ireland for about £60m.
13-Oct-2005

Rydon, the contractor and housebuilder, is said to be planning a management buy-out backed by HBOS.
13-Oct-2005

Retail Decisions is to acquire Fuelserv, the fuel payment card operator, from DHL Distribution for £22m.
13-Oct-2005

The Savoy Theatre in London has been acquired by the Ambassador Theatre Group and three impresarios for about £7m.
13-Oct-2005

Ennstone has acquired J&H Parry & Sons, the West Midlands-based surfacing contractor, for up to £2.1m.
12-Oct-2005

Centrica is to sell its 49% stake in the Accuread gas meter reading business to GSL Utility Services for £11m.
12-Oct-2005

Mondas has acquired Eclipse Learner Systems, the supplier of software systems to colleges of further education, for £0.6m.
12-Oct-2005

Alternative Networks has acquired Integrated Communications for Business, the Reading-based mobile and fixed line telecoms service provider with 58 staff, for an initial £6m.
12-Oct-2005

Petrol Express has acquired 14 petrol filling stations in the Midlands and South Wales from Texaco for £4.5m, taking its total chain to 62.
12-Oct-2005

Sweetmans, the Swansea-based bakery, has sold 22 retail outlets to Cardiff-based Ferraris, and a further five have been sold to Llanelli-based Jenkins.
12-Oct-2005

Zarlink Semiconductor of Swindon is to sell its radio frequency consumer business to Intel for £40m, with the transfer of about 70 staff.
12-Oct-2005

Johnson Service has acquired SGP Property Services, the Leicester-based property management company, for up to £29m.
12-Oct-2005

H&C Dickie has acquired Sheba Plant, the Newark-based plant hire company, for undisclosed terms.
12-Oct-2005

Your Move is to acquire Reeds Rains, the chain of 130 estate agents with 729 staff, through parent company Lending Solutions for about £22m.
12-Oct-2005

MORI, the polling and market research company with 450 staff, is to be acquired by Ipsos of France for about £88m.
11-Oct-2005

Wincanton has acquired a division of Premium Logistics for £21m, in order to strengthen its position in the French market.
11-Oct-2005

Savills is planning to acquire SY Moorhouse Wright, the Manchester-based retail property agency, and has also just bought industrial agent Brown Harknett International.
11-Oct-2005

Bunzl has acquired Retail Resources, the US-based supplier of bags, boxes and other store supplies with annual sales of £17m.
11-Oct-2005

Brandon Tool Hire has acquired Lynwood Hire & Sales of King's Lynn for £0.3m.
11-Oct-2005

Key-Tech, the Kirkcaldy-based electronics company with 70 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
11-Oct-2005

Charvills has sold its Hoddesdon car dealership and its Citroen servicing and repairs franchise to tyre and exhaust specialist Mr Unique.
11-Oct-2005

Multi has acquired 1st 4 Locums, the Ilford-based provider of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and pharmacists that trades as The Locum Partnership, for £3.6m.
10-Oct-2005

William Grant & Sons has acquired Raynal & Cie, the French brandy company, for an estimated £50m.
10-Oct-2005

Foyles has acquired Bookplace, the online book retailer, in order to expand its own web and mail order division.
10-Oct-2005

BP is to sell its Innovene petrochemicals and refining business to Ineos for £5bn, having dropped plans for a partial flotation of the business.
10-Oct-2005

Basepoint, the developer of enterprise centres, is to be acquired by ACG Rented Properties for £21m.
10-Oct-2005

Coral Eurobet, the betting shop chain, is to be acquired by Gala for £2.2bn, creating an enlarged group with about 1,450 outlets and more than 17,000 staff.
10-Oct-2005

Reckitt Benckiser is to acquire the Boots Healthcare International consumer healthcare division of Boots for £1.9bn, which will involve the transfer of about 2,500 Nottingham-based staff.
10-Oct-2005

Queens Moat Houses has sold nine UK hotels to Jefferson Hotels for about £100m, and eight of them will be leased to Rezidor SAS and rebranded as Park Inns.
10-Oct-2005

National Express is to acquire Alsa, the Spanish bus and coach operator with almost 2,800 staff, for £262m.
10-Oct-2005

Granta Books, the book and magazine publisher, has been acquired by Sigrid Rausing for about £3m.
10-Oct-2005

Alfred McAlpine has sold its 50% stake in Core Utility Solutions to Scottish Power for £10m.
07-Oct-2005

Northern Petroleum has sold its Northern Petroleum Exploration subsidiary to Gold Oil for £0.3m, in order to focus on its new projects in the Netherlands.
07-Oct-2005

Group 4 Securicor has acquired Holzinger, the Austrian supplier of security systems with gross assets of £0.4m.
07-Oct-2005

Renewable Energy Holdings has announced that its REH Landfill Gas subsidiary is to acquire Gwynt Cymru, the owner of a 1MW landfill gas project in North Wales, for £1.6m.
07-Oct-2005

BSI Inspectorate, the global inspection and testing group with 3,800 staff, has been sold by BSI Group to Inspicio for £52m.
07-Oct-2005

Northumbrian Water is to sell Entec UK, the environmental and engineering consultancy, to management for £30m.
07-Oct-2005

National Screen has acquired Madeart, the London-based reprographics and print management company.
07-Oct-2005

Scott Timber has acquired Hambrook Group, the pallet manufacturer with 150 staff at sites in Bristol, Newport, Newton Abbot, Wolverhampton and Featherstone, for undisclosed terms.
07-Oct-2005

Lebus has been bought out of receivership following a multi-million pound bid from a businessman, securing 200 jobs at its furniture factory in North Lincolnshire.
07-Oct-2005

RBG has acquired the UK and US operations of Core Technical Services, the Aberdeen-based oil services company with 100 staff, for undisclosed terms.
07-Oct-2005

Greencore has acquired Oldfields, the London-based sandwich manufacturer, for £12m, and has also announced the sale of its UK pizza business to management for a nominal sum.
06-Oct-2005

Spectrum Interactive has acquired the fixed and wireless public internet access business of Broadreach Networks for undisclosed terms, including about 400 access points across the UK.
06-Oct-2005

Provexis has sold its Altu food business to Go Lower for under £0.1m, in order to focus on the development of new food bioactives.
06-Oct-2005

Ashworth Mairs Group, the Merseyside-based loss adjuster with more than 250 staff at ten regional offices, has undergone a £62m management buy-out backed by Hermes Private Equity.
06-Oct-2005

Boxstar has been bought out of administration by TP8 of Langley, Berkshire, securing the future of 300 jobs at its packaging operations in Accrington, Leicester, Maidenhead and Leeds.
06-Oct-2005

SGB has sold its Youngman access equipment business to a new management team.
06-Oct-2005

Honda has taken full control of the Northamptonshire-based BAR Formula One motor racing team, with the acquisition of a 55% stake from British American Tobacco.
05-Oct-2005

Netstore is to acquire Intercea, the Reading-based IT services company with 50 staff, for up to £12m.
05-Oct-2005

Alliance Trust Savings is to acquire Wolanski & Co Trustees, including a SIPP and SSAS pensions administration business and 50 London-based staff.
04-Oct-2005

IMI is to acquire the control valves business of ABB KK of Japan, including 70 staff, for £20m.
04-Oct-2005

Galliford Try has acquired Pentland, the chartered surveying firm with offices in Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Gloucester, for an initial £1.1m.
04-Oct-2005

Aegis Group has acquired Kirowski, the Hungarian digital marketing services agency, for up to £6.8m.
04-Oct-2005

Shanks is to sell most of its hazardous waste operations to Onyx for £28m, while a separate £6m transaction with Waterfront Edinburgh will involve the closure of a liquid waste processing plant.
04-Oct-2005

DS Smith has acquired Timmermans, the office products wholesaler with 130 staff in Belgium and the Netherlands, in order to expand its Spicers business.
04-Oct-2005

Cargill has sold its Seaforth corn mill to Dacsa of Spain for undisclosed terms, with the transfer of about 20 staff.
04-Oct-2005

NTL has reached agreement to acquire rival cable TV and telecoms company Telewest for £3.4bn, which could result in thousands of job losses through office rationalisation.
04-Oct-2005

News International has sold The Times Educational Supplement and The Times Higher Educational Supplement to Exponent Private Equity for £235m.
04-Oct-2005

Speedy Hire is to acquire Delyn Hire Centres, the chain of four tool hire centres in North Wales, for £1.2m.
04-Oct-2005

Daily Mail & General Trust has acquired iMedia Communications, the digital marketing events and newsletter company, for up to £6.8m.
03-Oct-2005

Cozart has acquired Spinreact, the Spanish medical diagnostics company, for £8.8m.
03-Oct-2005

Flying Brands has acquired Garden Bird Supplies, the supplier of food and accessories for birds and other wildlife, for £4.3m.
03-Oct-2005

Simon Storage, the chemical storage company with sites across the UK, is to be acquired by Inter Pipeline Fund of Canada for £120m.
03-Oct-2005

Intelli, the Edinburgh-based corporate finance boutique with 16 staff, has been acquired by Iimia Investment Group for about £5m.
03-Oct-2005

DDS Medicines Research, the Dundee-based company with 80 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for an estimated £1m, and will be rebranded as Drug Development Solutions.
03-Oct-2005

Apace is to acquire MM Televizia, the Bulgarian TV broadcasting company, for £0.5m.
03-Oct-2005

Real Affinity, the marketing services company, is to be acquired by Aim-listed cash shell Langbar International for £2.6m.
03-Oct-2005

Morgan Crucible is to sell Magnetics, its magnetic materials business with 4,000 staff, to One Equity Partners for £300m.
03-Oct-2005

Boots is planning to merge with Alliance UniChem in a £7bn deal that would create a combined healthcare and beauty retailing business with 2,600 stores in the UK.
03-Oct-2005

Richardson, the Kent-based social housing contractor with almost 100 staff, has been acquired by investment company Chaldean.
03-Oct-2005

Page & Moy has sold its cruise booking business, including a call centre in Leicester, to a new company called Totally Travel for about £5m.
03-Oct-2005

Bunzl has acquired AW Mendenhall, the US-based supplier of industrial packaging and disposable products with gross assets of £11m.
30-Sep-2005

ITE Group has acquired DEW Events, the operator of footwear exhibitions, for an initial £3.4m.
30-Sep-2005

Interior Services Group is to acquire Propencity Group, the regional construction services company that includes Jackson, Totty and Dean & Bowes, for an initial £12m.
29-Sep-2005

BT is to acquire Infonet Network Services Deutschland, the German network solutions company with 61 staff, from T-Systems.
29-Sep-2005

Oldbury Aluminium Alloys, the Halesowen-based manufacturer of aluminium ingots, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
29-Sep-2005

Ten Alps has acquired Rock Hammer Productions, the Derby-based TV production company, creating a new division called Ten Alps Midlands.
29-Sep-2005

CNG Travel Group has sold its leisure division, including a hotel booking business, to FEXCO All Travel for an initial £1.4m.
28-Sep-2005

Belgravium Technologies is to acquire Touchstar Technologies, the manufacturer of mobile computing devices, for £11m.
28-Sep-2005

Interregnum is to acquire The Video Meeting Company, the London-based videoconferencing company with 21 staff, from the Unique Group, in order to expand its Audio Visual Machines subsidiary.
28-Sep-2005

Republic, the chain of about 60 fashion stores, has accepted an estimated £100m takeover offer from Change Capital Partners.
28-Sep-2005

Tomkins has acquired NRG Industries, the US manufacturer of commercial building accessories, for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its Air Systems Components business.
27-Sep-2005

IncaGold has acquired GP Mob, the distributor of games, ring tones and graphics to mobile phone handsets, for £0.1m.
27-Sep-2005

Dunedin Capital Partners has backed a management buy-out at Practice Plan Group, the Shropshire-based company that helps dental practices go private.
27-Sep-2005

Controlled Demolition Group of Wakefield has been bought out of administration by Linkway Manufacturing of Driffield for £1.9m, securing the future of 140 jobs.
27-Sep-2005

Lapistor, the Bradford-based data storage company, has undergone a £4m management buy-out backed by Barclays Bank Corporate.
27-Sep-2005

Caledonia Oil & Gas, the gas producer with stakes in 15 North Sea fields, is to be acquired by Eon of Germany for £470m.
27-Sep-2005

Media Square has announced a £63m reverse takeover of the marketing division of Huntsworth, leaving Huntsworth to focus on public relations.
27-Sep-2005

Hartford is to acquire Henry J Beans, the chain of five bars with a further 17 franchised outlets abroad, for £5.8m.
27-Sep-2005

Torex Retail is to acquire Openfields, the US retail software company, for up to £18m.
27-Sep-2005

Quantica is to acquire Capital Learning Services, the training company with 39 staff at six offices in London, for at least £1.4m.
27-Sep-2005

Isoft is to acquire Novasoft Sanidad, the Spanish provider of healthcare software applications, for an initial £8m.
26-Sep-2005

API Group is to acquire MEPA-S, the German distributor of foil products, for £1m.
26-Sep-2005

Healthcare Enterprise Group is to acquire Fertiloscopy, the diagnostic and therapeutic aid, from Gerimed for up to £1.9m.
26-Sep-2005

Quadnetics is to acquire Protec, the Watford-based security specialist, for about £10m.
26-Sep-2005

Trilogy Telecom, the broadband service provider, has been bought out of administration by Edge Telecom for undisclosed terms.
26-Sep-2005

Visage Imports, the Tyneside-based fashion supplier, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
26-Sep-2005

Smiths Group has acquired Millitech, the US manufacturer of millimetre wave components and assemblies, for £18m.
23-Sep-2005

Kelvin Graphics of Manchester has acquired Direct Imaging, the Cheadle-based digital printing company.
23-Sep-2005

Autocare UK, the vehicle distribution company, has been bought out of administration by Paragon Automotive, securing the future of 156 jobs in Immingham and 14 in Kirriemuir.
23-Sep-2005

Polaron is to sell its Watford-based FastTrak Software Publishing division to management for £0.2m.
22-Sep-2005

John Letters, the Glasgow-based golf club manufacturer, has been bought out of administration by Direct Golf UK for an estimated £0.5m.
22-Sep-2005

Harrowell Shaftoe is to merge with Ashworth Tetlow, creating a combined Yorkshire-based legal firm with 160 staff.
22-Sep-2005

Signature Restaurants is to be acquired by the owner of Wentworth Golf Club for about £57m, which is expected to lead to a £60m investment in the expansion of the 25 Strada pizza outlets to 100.
22-Sep-2005

BC Partners is set to acquire the Fitness First chain of 440 fitness centres from Cinven for £800m, and aims to open up to 250 new sites over the next five years.
22-Sep-2005

BioFocus, the Saffron Walden-based drug discovery company with 112 staff, is to be acquired by Galapagos of Belgium for £20m.
22-Sep-2005

Metalrax has sold MRX Plastic Moulders, its Burnley-based plastic products business, for undisclosed terms.
21-Sep-2005

Trifast is to acquire Serco Ryan, the Kidderminster-based fastener distributor with eight sites, for £18m.
21-Sep-2005

Tikit Group has acquired Shamrock Marketing, the Buckinghamshire-based data management services company with 20 staff, for an initial £0.3m.
21-Sep-2005

Standard Life is to relocate the headquarters of its Standard Life Healthcare division and 350 jobs from Guildford to Bournemouth, following the acquisition of Bournemouth-based FirstAssist Insurance for undisclosed terms.
21-Sep-2005

WorkPlace Systems International has acquired Labor Solutions International, the US-based retail consultancy, for £3.3m.
20-Sep-2005

Sage Group has acquired Cogestib, the French supplier of business management solutions, for £7.7m.
20-Sep-2005

Millfield Group, the financial services advisory group, is to sell its international division to de Vere Holding Company for £0.8m.
20-Sep-2005

Aegis Group is to acquire Brindley Advertising, the Irish advertising agency, for an initial £2.6m.
20-Sep-2005

Netb2b2 has acquired Fernhart New Media, the Croydon-based web site design and interactive TV consultancy, for up to £2.5m.
20-Sep-2005

International Medical Devices has acquired Meddis, the Oxfordshire-based distributor of medical devices to hospitals and medical practitioners, for £0.4m.
20-Sep-2005

TFS Derby, the Derby-based manufacturer of specialist screws with 30 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
20-Sep-2005

Alchemy Partners has acquired 178 city centre pubs and bars from Spirit Group for £177m, and the chain will be known as Tattershall Castle Group.
20-Sep-2005

Pharmagene, the biotechnology company, has agreed terms for a £13m merger with Asterand of the US, which is expected to lead to the loss of about 23 jobs.
20-Sep-2005

Exel has accepted a £3.7bn takeover bid from Deutsche Post of Germany, creating a combined global logistics group with about 150,000 staff.
20-Sep-2005

Incisive Media has acquired the remaining 80% of Global Professional Media, the publisher of trade magazines for the legal profession, for £5.7m.
19-Sep-2005

Maxima has acquired Hanston Technology Partners, the Reading-based Oracle managed services consultancy with 37 staff, for £8.7m.
19-Sep-2005

Penman Engineering, the Dumfries-based manufacturer of armoured vehicles with 170 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
19-Sep-2005

Miller Group is to acquire Fairclough Homes, the Woking-based housebuilder, from Centex Corporation for £264m.
19-Sep-2005

LogicaCMG is planning to raise £400m in a rights issue to support a proposed £630m takeover bid for French IT services company Unilog.
19-Sep-2005

Datamonitor is to acquire Verdict Research, the market analysis company, for up to £4.7m.
19-Sep-2005

Bomfords has acquired Tuddenham Hall Foods, the Suffolk-based grower of asparagus and other vegetables.
19-Sep-2005

Southern Co-operatives is to acquire David's Stores, the chain of eight stores on the Isle of Wight, and £2m will be invested at the sites in 2006.
19-Sep-2005

James Fisher is to acquire Monyana Engineering Services, the marine equipment supplier, for £11m, and has also announced the sale of its Oceanic Pearl cable-laying vessel to Shipman Group of Norway for £11m.
19-Sep-2005

United Business Media has sold its Exchange & Mart and Auto Exchange publications to the Exchange Enterprises subsidiary of Newsquest for £50m.
19-Sep-2005

Johnston Press is to acquire Local Press, the Belfast-based newspaper publisher, for £65m, as well as the Leinster Leader group in the Irish Republic for £94m.
19-Sep-2005

Chrysalis has sold its book publishing division to a management buy-out for £12m.
19-Sep-2005

Olaer, the Chester-based parts maker with 300 staff and sites in France, Scandinavia, Switzerland and the US, is to be acquired by Gresham Private Equity Solutions for £40m.
19-Sep-2005

Bridgepoint and 3i have sold Templecare, the nursing homes operator, to Minster Care Management for £15m.
16-Sep-2005

SectorGuard has acquired Asset Protection, the security solutions firm, for £1.8m.
16-Sep-2005

RPS has acquired ECL Group, the oil industry services company with 125 staff at offices in Henley-on-Thames, London, Aberdeen, Winfrith, North America and Australia, for up to £27m.
16-Sep-2005

Corries Solicitors, the York-based legal insurance cover firm with 250 staff, has been acquired by newly-formed Minster Law, which is backed by Budget Insurance of Peterborough.
16-Sep-2005

Cobham is to sell its Fluid & Air division companies to Eaton Corporation of the US for £150m, including sites in Dorset, Devon, France and the US.
15-Sep-2005

Special Metals Corporation has been acquired by Precision Costparts Corporation of the US for £300m, which will mean new ownership for the 680 staff at the Special Metals Wiggin subsidiary in Hereford.
15-Sep-2005

Tenon has acquired Marchands, the Huddersfield-based insolvency firm, for undisclosed terms.
15-Sep-2005

AEA Technology is to sell a number of businesses to Coller Capital for £40m, including its battery plant in Thurso, AEA HK, QSA, nCode, Accentus, Engineering, Safety and Risk, Safeguard, EASA and Lexware International.
15-Sep-2005

Euromoney Institutional Investor is to acquire TelCap, the magazines and conferences company, for up to £17m.
15-Sep-2005

First Artist has acquired The Finishing Touch, the Surrey-based event management company, for £3.4m.
15-Sep-2005

Wilmington has sold its drinks industry publishing division to William Reed Publishing for £2.2m, including trade magazines and events.
14-Sep-2005

John G Russell has bought Norfrost, the Caithness-based manufacturer of freezers and refrigeration equipment, out of administration, securing 94 jobs.
14-Sep-2005

Jefferson Smurfit is to merge with Kappa Packaging to create the largest cardboard box manufacturer in Europe.
14-Sep-2005

Hyder Consulting has acquired Irwinconsult, the Australian transport planning company with ten staff in New South Wales, for £0.2m.
13-Sep-2005

Laird Group has sold Permacell Finesse, the Essex-based supplier of window profiles, to Synseal Holdings for £10m, and has also announced the acquisition of Builders Hardware of the US for £5.5m.
13-Sep-2005

Spice Holdings has acquired Hutchison Communication Systems, the provider of telephone maintenance and installation services, for up to £5m.
13-Sep-2005

The Seafood Company, the West Sussex-based seafood supplier, has been acquired by FPI of Canada for £18m.
13-Sep-2005

Ipswich & Norwich Co-op is to merge with Colchester & East Essex Co-op to create a group of 200 trading outlets called the East of England Co-op.
13-Sep-2005

ThirdForce is to acquire Creative Learning Media, the Somerset-based e-learning company with 40 staff, for an initial £1.2m.
12-Sep-2005

Video Island is to acquire Brafilm for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its online DVD rental business into Sweden and Norway.
12-Sep-2005

Urbium has accepted a £113m takeover offer from private equity firm Electra, and Electra is planning to expand the chain of bars from 37 to 100 over the next few years.
12-Sep-2005

Airborne Systems has acquired Advanced Inflatable Products, and production of balloons and other inflatables will relocate from Southend-on-Sea to its Irvin-GQ factory near Bridgend.
09-Sep-2005

GlaxoSmithKline is planning to acquire ID Biomedical Corporation, the Canadian manufacturer of innovative vaccine products, for £0.8bn.
08-Sep-2005

Imprint is to acquire Accreate, the Irish financial recruitment company, for an initial £2m.
08-Sep-2005

Erinaceous has acquired Leach Rhodes Walker, the Manchester-based architectural design firm with 90 staff, for £9m, as well as Francis Graves & Naismiths, the Birmingham-based quantity surveyor with 85 staff, for £7m.
08-Sep-2005

Bryken High Speed Turnings, the Knowsley-based engineering company with about 100 staff, is to undergo a £3m management buy-out backed by NatWest Commercial Banking.
08-Sep-2005

TM Group, the chain of 1,300 newsagents and convenience stores, is to undergo a £165m management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland Corporate.
08-Sep-2005

Sandhurst Equipment Rental has acquired JL Plant Services, the Fife-based construction equipment hire company, for undisclosed terms.
08-Sep-2005

Red Carnation Hotels has bought the Egerton House hotel in Knightsbridge, London, from Townhouse Hotel Investments for about £6m.
08-Sep-2005

Air Music is to acquire Maximum Entertainment, the distributor of children's entertainment on DVD, for £0.4m.
07-Sep-2005

Rexam is to acquire Delta Plastics, the US manufacturer of plastic injection-moulded jars and closures with 350 staff, for £83m.
07-Sep-2005

Idis, the pharmaceuticals importer, has undergone a £22m management buy-out backed by Close Brothers Private Equity.
07-Sep-2005

CSS Stellar is to sell its GEM Europe marketing services business to Passhold, a newly-formed company backed by private equity firm Kaye Enterprises, for £2m.
06-Sep-2005

Aegis Group has acquired Market Equity, the Australian market research company, for an initial £6.6m.
06-Sep-2005

BOC Group has acquired G Van Dongen Holdings, the temperature-controlled transport operator with seven companies in the Netherlands and Spain, in order to expand its Gist division.
06-Sep-2005

Parkwood has acquired Coblands Wholesale, the Kent-based nursery with five sites involved in the production and growing-on of plants.
06-Sep-2005

IMI has sold its Polypipe plastic pipes division to Castle Harlan of the US for £239m, and is now looking to spend up to £400m on acquisitions.
06-Sep-2005

Spice Holdings has acquired Circle Britannia and ServiceLine for £15m, in order to expand its commercial facilities management business.
06-Sep-2005

DCS Group, the IT company, has sold its logistics division to Four Soft for £11m.
06-Sep-2005

Britax International has sold Britax Childcare, the manufacturer of children's car seats and pushchairs, to private equity firm Carlyle for £230m.
06-Sep-2005

Serviced Office Group has acquired Willowbank Office Centres, the operator of three leasehold business centres in Uxbridge and Marlow, for £0.2m.
05-Sep-2005

Waterline Group has acquired Coolectric, the importer of Liebherr kitchen and commercial appliances, for £0.9m.
05-Sep-2005

Dunedin Capital Partners of Edinburgh is to acquire Sand Aire Private Equity of London for undisclosed terms.
05-Sep-2005

Trinity Mirror is planning to acquire Hotgroup, the recruitment company, for £50m.
02-Sep-2005

Computer Software Group has acquired Transoft Group, the provider of software support and integration services with offices in Slough and the US, for £2.4m.
02-Sep-2005

Lombard Risk Management is to acquire STB Systems, the London-based supplier of compliance automation systems, for an initial £2m.
02-Sep-2005

Chelford Group has acquired Agility Systems, the Darlington-based software and IT services company with 23 staff, for up to £3.8m.
02-Sep-2005

Broker Network Holdings has acquired Whitehouse Woodall Reeves, the Birmingham-based general insurance broker.
02-Sep-2005

Chemring Group has acquired Troon Investments, the Ardeer-based manufacturer of pyrotechnic and propellant devices, for £22m.
02-Sep-2005

Zurich Financial Services has sold Claims Management Group, the provider of outsourced claims management services with 550 staff at 12 international offices, to Sovereign Capital Partners for undisclosed terms.
02-Sep-2005

CET Group, the Maidstone-based housing subsidence specialist with 228 staff at seven sites, has undergone a £15m management buy-out backed by Sand Aire Private Equity.
02-Sep-2005

Dart Group has sold its stake in Benair Freight International to Gulf Agency Company for £5.1m, in order to focus on temperature-controlled distribution and aviation services.
01-Sep-2005

Strategic Retail is to acquire eight home furnishings stores and other assets from East Kilbride-based Texstyle World Home for £1.5m, while eight other stores will close with the loss of 45 jobs.
01-Sep-2005

Accuma Group is to acquire Wilson Phillips, the Blackburn-based personal insolvency firm with 23 staff, for £3.3m.
01-Sep-2005

Mangar International has acquired MFC Survival, the Tonypandy-based supplier of safety and survival equipment with 69 staff, for undisclosed terms.
01-Sep-2005

BecoSolar, the Dartmouth-based developer of solar power systems, has undergone a management buy-in backed by Bank of Scotland Corporate and Finance South West.
01-Sep-2005

Qinetiq is planning to acquire Verhaert Design & Development, the Belgian satellite manufacturer with 70 staff, for undisclosed terms.
01-Sep-2005

Montpellier has agreed to sell its Bullock social housing division to management for £42m.
01-Sep-2005

Tesco is to acquire 30 petrol filling stations and convenience stores from Morrisons for about £55m, in order to expand its Express store format.
01-Sep-2005

Star Capital is to sell Inexus, the provider of gas networks for residential property developments, to Challenger Infrastructure Fund of Australia for £465m.
01-Sep-2005

Augean has acquired Proactive Waste Solutions, the Cannock-based hazardous waste treatment operator, for £8m.
31-Aug-2005

Formation Group has acquired Imagealert, the Preston-based outdoor sports advertising company that trades as Richard Carpenter Associates, for up to £1m.
31-Aug-2005

CPI, the book printing company that includes Bath Press, Cox & Wyman and Mackays, has undergone a £307m management buy-out backed by Electra Partners and CVC Capital.
31-Aug-2005

Wade Smith, the Liverpool-based fashion retailer with 35 staff, has been sold by administrators back to its founder.
31-Aug-2005

Nordic Holdings, the waste recycling, port terminal and document storage company with sites in Southampton, Chatham and Corby, has undergone a £13m management buy-out.
30-Aug-2005

Loders Motor Group, the operator of Toyota, Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda car dealerships in Dorset and Somerset, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
30-Aug-2005

Pegler Holdings, the Doncaster-based plumbing products manufacturer with 500 staff, has been acquired by Dutch group Aalberts Industries for an estimated £40m.
30-Aug-2005

Wagon has sold Hawtal Whiting, the US-based engineering consultancy, to Acro Service Corp for £0.4m.
29-Aug-2005

Inyx is to acquire Celltech Manufacturing Services, the Manchester-based pharmaceuticals development company with 300 staff, from UCB for £19m, and will change its name from CMSL to Ashton Pharmaceuticals.
29-Aug-2005

Pan Fish of Norway has acquired two Scottish fish farming companies - Corrie Mhor Salmon of Wester Ross for £4.7m and Murray Seafoods of Loch Fyne for £5.5m.
29-Aug-2005

MediaZest is to acquire Touch Vision, the audio and screen subsidiary of Touch, for £3m.
29-Aug-2005

PlaneStation's administrators are to sell Manston airport, which trades as Kent International, to Infratil of New Zealand for £17m, and freight operations are expected to resume soon.
29-Aug-2005

Roxboro is to sell its Solartron measurement instruments business to Ametek of the US for £42m, and has also announced plans to change its name to Dialight.
29-Aug-2005

Stream Group has acquired Mobileworkflow for up to £7.5m, in order to expand its mobile applications business.
26-Aug-2005

Umeco has acquired Aviation Windings, the Luton-based supplier of wound components for use in electric motors and generators with 30 staff, from The Deritend Group for £1.6m.
26-Aug-2005

Quantica has acquired RK Group, the Cheshire-based recruitment specialist with more than 100 staff at ten offices, for £12m.
26-Aug-2005

Daily Mail & General Trust has acquired Zambeasy and Office Recruit for a combined £4.1m, in order to expand its Associated New Ventures division.
26-Aug-2005

Wolverhampton & Dudley is to acquire English Country Inns, the chain of 14 pubs, for £14m.
25-Aug-2005

VI Group has acquired SMIRTware, the US supplier of die design software for the automotive industry, for £0.6m.
25-Aug-2005

Punch Taverns is to sell 45 pubs to Admiral Taverns (Cygnet) for £15m.
25-Aug-2005

Integral UK, the facilities maintenance company with 2,000 staff at 14 sites across the country, has undergone a £20m management buy-out from Guinness Peat.
25-Aug-2005

Hammond Heat Treatment, the Darlaston-based heat treatment company, has been bought out of administration by a management team, securing the future of about 60 jobs.
25-Aug-2005

Mueller Europe has acquired Brassware Sales and Instox, two Birmingham-based plumbing product suppliers, from KX Group.
24-Aug-2005

AB2000 has acquired the plant hire division of MB Engineering Services for £1.1m, and the 18 staff will transfer to its Cambuslang depot in Glasgow.
24-Aug-2005

Studley Castle, the Warwickshire conference centre, is expected to be sold by Phoenix Venture Holdings to the Firoka Group for £4.5m.
24-Aug-2005

NWF Agriculture has acquired Nutrition Express, the Salford Quays-based animal feed distributor, for £0.5m.
23-Aug-2005

Ferrovial of Spain has acquired Swissport International, the ground handling company with more than 1,500 UK staff at airports in Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Gatwick and Stansted, for £438m.
23-Aug-2005

Jennings, the chain of six Ford, Mazda, Seat, Subaru and Isuzu car dealerships in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Sunderland, Morpeth, Gateshead and Washington, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
23-Aug-2005

Royal Mail and Royal TPG Post are to sell Postal Preference Service, the direct marketing company, to Interactive Prospect Targeting Holdings for £4.3m.
23-Aug-2005

Monstermob is to acquire ATOP Century, the Chinese developer of mobile phone games and services, for £55m.
23-Aug-2005

PGL Travel, the Herefordshire-based activity holiday company, has undergone a £42m management buy-out.
23-Aug-2005

Greene King is to acquire Belhaven, the East Lothian-based brewery and chain of 270 pubs, for £254m.
23-Aug-2005

Superglass, the Stirling-based loft insulation maker with 211 staff, has undergone a £40m management buy-out backed by NBGI Private Equity.
22-Aug-2005

Marshall Wooldridge has acquired Kay Hardman Insurance Brokers of Leeds for undisclosed terms.
22-Aug-2005

Telephone Maintenance Group is to acquire Cassydora, the facilities management company, for £1.5m.
22-Aug-2005

INCAT, the design services company with 650 staff and offices in Luton and Bristol, is to be acquired by Tata Motors of India for £53m.
22-Aug-2005

BDO Stoy Hayward has sold The Sofa Company out of administration to Klaussner Beteiligungs, and at least 34 of the 80 stores are expected to re-open.
22-Aug-2005

XKO is to acquire UBM, the provider of billing validation and debt management services with 45 staff, for up to £47m.
19-Aug-2005

Hunting has acquired Cromar, the Aberdeen-based provider of well services to oil and gas companies with 66 staff, for £10m.
19-Aug-2005

United Business Media has acquired three US-based online and events companies for a total £30m, including Light Reading, Informex and TechOnLine.
19-Aug-2005

Back Group, the Birmingham-based construction and property consultancy with 70 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms, and will change its name to DBK Back.
19-Aug-2005

CamAxys, the Cambridgeshire-based risk management software company with 15 staff, has been acquired by management for less than £0.2m.
19-Aug-2005

Nightspeed Services, the Tipton-based parcels carrier with 900 staff and 23 depots, has been bought out of administration by Amtrak Express Parcels.
19-Aug-2005

British Benzol, the Aylesbury-based oil distributor with 15 depots, has been acquired by the Total Butler division of Total UK.
19-Aug-2005

Torex Retail has acquired Retail Petroleum Systems, the Irish supplier of forecourt equipment and computer systems, for up to £6m.
18-Aug-2005

Huntsworth is to acquire The Anne McBride Company, the US communications company, for an initial £1.4m.
18-Aug-2005

Heywood Williams is to sell its plastic window systems division, including 600 staff at sites in Macclesfield, North Lincolnshire and Trentham, to Latium Plastics for £3m, in order to focus on door hardware and panels.
18-Aug-2005

Zenith Hygiene has acquired Renaissance Laundry & Cleaning Supplies of Ross-on-Wye for £0.5m.
18-Aug-2005

Company Health Group has acquired Milligan & Hill of London for £0.5m, in order to expand its occupational health services business.
18-Aug-2005

NWF Group has acquired Broadland Fuels, the Norfolk-based fuel distribution company, for £0.7m.
18-Aug-2005

Sheffield Forgemasters is to undergo a management buy-out, securing the future of 600 jobs.
18-Aug-2005

Trinity Mirror has acquired Financial Jobs Online, the owner of the GAAPweb online recruitment site, for an initial £10m.
17-Aug-2005

Airotech Holdings and John Gladstone Dyers & Finishers of Huddersfield have undergone a management buy-out from the Uniworth Group of India, securing the future of 60 jobs.
17-Aug-2005

Metsec has acquired Stratford Joists from Joy Construction for undisclosed terms, in order to create the country's largest manufacturer of proprietary steel lattice joists.
17-Aug-2005

Wraith is to acquire the portable accommodation assets of Bowood Event Hire for £4.4m.
17-Aug-2005

Cable & Wireless is to acquire Energis, the telecoms network operator with 1,550 staff in Leeds, London, Reading and Dublin, in a deal worth £837m, and is planning to shed 700 jobs across the combined group by 2008.
17-Aug-2005

Numark, the buying group for about 1,700 UK pharmacies, has accepted a £30m takeover offer from Phoenix Medical Supplies.
17-Aug-2005

Loans.co.uk, the loans company with more than 400 staff in Watford and Preston, has been acquired by MBNA.
16-Aug-2005

Racal Acoustics, the Harrow-based communications equipment manufacturer, has been acquired by private equity firm ECI for £52m, and £50m will be invested in the expansion of the business over the next two years.
16-Aug-2005

Weir has acquired Pompe Gabbioneta, the Italian supplier of petrochemical pumps, for £69m.
16-Aug-2005

Aga Foodservice has acquired Divertimenti, the London-based kitchen utensils retailer, for £1.4m.
16-Aug-2005

Netstore is to acquire Oakmore Holdings, which trades as System Software Solutions, for £3m, in order to expand its NetConnect subsidiary.
16-Aug-2005

Voltek Automation, the supplier of security equipment, is to be acquired by Digital Cybermasters Group in a £2.8m reverse takeover.
15-Aug-2005

Aegis Group is to acquire Alban Communications, the London-based media planning and buying agency, for up to £8m.
15-Aug-2005

Avalon Television has acquired Liberty Bell, the independent TV production company with offices in Newcastle and London.
15-Aug-2005

Esterform Packaging has acquired Petplas Packaging from Alcan for undisclosed terms, creating a combined group with 180 staff in Tenbury Wells and Leeds.
15-Aug-2005

Carter & Carter is to acquire Assa Training & Learning, the vocational skills training company, for £24m.
15-Aug-2005

Huntsworth is to acquire Context Research International for £3m and Brand Health International for up to £5m, in order to expand its public relations business in the healthcare sector.
15-Aug-2005

Halma has acquired Radio-Tech, the Essex-based manufacturer of wireless data transmission systems, for £2m.
12-Aug-2005

Aegis has acquired Glue London, the London-based digital creative agency with more than 60 staff, for £15m.
12-Aug-2005

Solid State Supplies has acquired Wordsworth Technology, the Kent-based electronics supplier, for £1.7m.
12-Aug-2005

X-Leisure has acquired the Queen's Links Leisure Park in Aberdeen from the Legendary Property Company for £22m, and will soon announce plans for a series of improvements at the site.
12-Aug-2005

Wyndeham has acquired Blacketts Print Group, the Essex-based screen printing and digital printing company with 81 staff, for an initial £3.9m.
12-Aug-2005

Christie Tyler has sold its West Midlands-based Ultra Furniture business out of administration to a management team, securing the future of 220 jobs.
11-Aug-2005

Truflo Air Movement, the Tipton-based cooling fans manufacturer with more than 100 staff, has been acquired by Phillips & Temro Industries of the US for undisclosed terms.
11-Aug-2005

RDF Media is to acquire the remaining 65% of Touchpaper Television, the independent drama production company, for £2.7m.
11-Aug-2005

Careforce has acquired Ace Homecare Services of Hertfordshire for £1.5m.
11-Aug-2005

Macaw, the Nelson-based soft drinks company with more than 300 staff, is to be acquired by Cott Corp of Canada for £75m.
11-Aug-2005

Balfour Beatty has acquired Pennine Group, the Lancashire-based ground engineering company, for £8m, as well as German signalling contractor SBB for £10m.
11-Aug-2005

Filtronic is to sell its LK Products handset antennae division to Technitrol of the US for £47m.
10-Aug-2005

Inventures, the NHS consultancy with 50 staff in London, Bath, Leeds, Plymouth and Eastleigh, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
10-Aug-2005

Johnston Press has completed the acquisition of Score Press, the former SRH division that includes 45 local newspaper titles in Scotland and Ireland, from Emap for £155m.
10-Aug-2005

Petards has acquired PI Vision, the Surbiton-based supplier of networked digital video recording systems, for up to £1.6m.
10-Aug-2005

Woodward Foodservice has undergone a £25m management buy-out backed by Catalyst Investment.
10-Aug-2005

Williams Fasteners, the Sheffield-based fastener manufacturer with 74 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
10-Aug-2005

BioCare, the Birmingham-based distributor of natural healthcare products and food supplements, has been acquired by Aim-listed cash shell NeutraHealth for £16m.
09-Aug-2005

Lookers is to acquire Volvo car dealerships in Glasgow and Hamilton from John Martin Group, and will relocate them to its existing Premier Automotive Group sites in Glasgow and Motherwell next year.
09-Aug-2005

Technology Services Group has acquired AC Computers, the Wigan-based IT company with 14 staff, for undisclosed terms.
09-Aug-2005

Pivotal Laboratories, the York-based analytical services company, has undergone a £8m management buy-out backed by Northern Venture Managers.
09-Aug-2005

Whitworths has acquired Sundora, the dried fruit and nut company, for undisclosed terms, and production will transfer from Pocklington to Irthlingborough.
08-Aug-2005

Holland Mitchell of Southampton has merged with Young & Butt of Fareham to create a combined property agency with 22 staff.
08-Aug-2005

Zerographic Systems has acquired Document Systems, the Wakefield-based office equipment company with 25 staff, for £1m.
08-Aug-2005

Apex Computers International, the Swindon-based computer company with 70 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
08-Aug-2005

Maxima is to acquire Ringwood Group, the supplier of document archiving software, for £2.9m.
08-Aug-2005

Kerry Group has acquired Noon Products, the ready meals manufacturer, from WT Foods for about £125m.
08-Aug-2005

Bupa has acquired Associated Nursing Services, the care homes operator, for £328m.
08-Aug-2005

Jarvis has sold its Techspan road signs business to Hill Smith for £0.9m.
08-Aug-2005

Holmes Place has sold its 15 fitness clubs in Spain and Portugal to a consortium of local private equity firms for £76m.
08-Aug-2005

National Express has acquired Northstar, the Canadian school bus company, for £26m.
05-Aug-2005

Helphire has acquired Swift Rentacar, the car rental company with 400 vehicles, for £25m.
05-Aug-2005

HSBC has acquired Metris, the US credit card company, for £898m.
05-Aug-2005

Jane Norman, the fashion retailer with 39 stores and 56 concessions, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Baugur and plans to expand to 140 UK outlets over the next three years.
05-Aug-2005

Sunquest Tanning Systems, the Tameside-based sunbed manufacturer with 70 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
04-Aug-2005

Alfred Steel, the Sheffield-based steel castings company, has been acquired by a joint management team from BAS Castings and HI Quality Steel Castings for undisclosed terms.
04-Aug-2005

Domnick Hunter, the filtration specialist, has accepted a £215m takeover bid from Parker Hannifin of the US.
04-Aug-2005

Thomson Intermedia has acquired Billetts, the media consultancy, for up to £13m.
04-Aug-2005

Enterprise has acquired CRW Maintenance, the provider of property maintenance services to local authorities in the North East and Midlands, for £6.3m.
04-Aug-2005

Northumbrian Water has sold Fastflow, its Washington-based pipeline contracting business with 240 staff, to management.
04-Aug-2005

Gibbs & Dandy has acquired Timber Force, the Kettering-based builders' merchant, for up to £1.7m.
04-Aug-2005

NG Bailey has acquired Johnson Brothers, the Leeds-based ceiling and plasterwork contractor with more than 100 staff, for undisclosed terms.
04-Aug-2005

Linguarama, the corporate language training company that includes the Cheney Court residential training centre, has been sold by BPP Holdings to Marcus Evans Business Education Centres.
03-Aug-2005

Qinetiq has acquired Apogen, the US IT company with 900 staff, for £163m.
03-Aug-2005

Red Letter Days, the experience gift company, has been bought out of administration by AIC.
03-Aug-2005

Sportingbet is to acquire ISC Entertainment, the Antigua-based online gambling company, for up to £22m.
03-Aug-2005

Begbies Traynor has acquired Taylor, Gotham & Fry, the Essex-based provider of insolvency services, for an initial £3m.
02-Aug-2005

Smiths Group has acquired Sevit, the Italian medical device distributor, for £3.5m, as well as Hi-Tech Hose of the US for £9m and Farnam Custom Products of the US for £3.5m.
02-Aug-2005

Lindley Catering, the Stoke-based contract catering company with 400 staff, has been acquired by private equity firm Sovereign Capital for £14m.
02-Aug-2005

TT Electronics has sold its Houchin Aerospace power generation subsidiary to an undisclosed trade buyer for £8m.
02-Aug-2005

Woolworths has sold its MVC chain of 76 music and DVD stores to a group of investors led by Argyll Partners for £5.5m.
02-Aug-2005

Media Square has acquired two print management companies: Symbian Print Intelligence of London and Lineword of Leeds.
01-Aug-2005

Cello Group has acquired RS Consulting, the market research and business consultancy, for up to £4.8m.
01-Aug-2005

Lookers has acquired PLP Motors, the operator of Vauxhall and Chevrolet car dealerships in Warrington and Widnes, for £3.2m.
01-Aug-2005

Fonebak is to acquire Intec Group, the mobile phone repair company, for up to £4.2m.
01-Aug-2005

Royal & Sun Alliance has sold Viking Insurance, its US-based non-standard auto insurance business, to Sentry for £114m.
01-Aug-2005

Bodycote Materials Testing has acquired Allied Laboratory Services, the Grimsby-based food testing company.
01-Aug-2005

E2V Technologies has acquired Gresham Scientific Instruments, the High Wycombe-based manufacturer of X-ray detectors, for £5.1m.
29-Jul-2005

Bunzl has acquired Sanicare, the Australian supplier of disposable healthcare products, for up to £6.4m.
29-Jul-2005

WSP has acquired Integrated Building Services Design Partnership of Cambridge.
29-Jul-2005

CSR has acquired the software division of UbiNetics for £27m, in order to move into the wi-fi market.
29-Jul-2005

Huveaux is to acquire Epic Group, the Aim-listed online learning provider, for £23m, and JB Balliere Sante, the French medical publishing company, for £8m.
29-Jul-2005

Axa of France is to acquire the Framlington fund management group from HSBC and Comerica for £178m.
29-Jul-2005

Chime Communications has acquired Baxter-Hulme, the Macclesfield-based public relations consultancy, for an initial £0.3m.
28-Jul-2005

Chorion has acquired Silver Lining Productions, the US TV production and merchandising company, for undisclosed terms.
28-Jul-2005

Chemring is to acquire Comet, the German manufacturer of military and marine pyrotechnics, for £6.7m.
28-Jul-2005

Arriva has acquired Blue Bus & Coaches, the Bolton-based bus operator with 218 staff and 86 vehicles, for £2.9m.
28-Jul-2005

Tarmac has acquired Encore Environmental Aggregates of Lanarkshire from Alfred McAlpine.
28-Jul-2005

Napier Brown, the sugar products supplier, is to be acquired by The Real Good Food Company for £68m.
28-Jul-2005

Granville Technology, the Burnley-based supplier of Time and Tiny computers with a network of 80 Computer Shop outlets, has gone into administration through Grant Thornton with the loss of about 1,500 jobs.
28-Jul-2005

Shire is planning to acquire Transkaryotic Therapies, the US biotechnology company, for about £920m.
28-Jul-2005

PricewaterhouseCoopers has sold MG Rover out of administration to Nanjing of China for about £60m, which is expected to lead to the revival of car production at Longbridge.
27-Jul-2005

Broadcastle, the independent bank, has been acquired by Siemens Financial for £42m.
27-Jul-2005

Flintstone Technologies is to acquire InnoCleaning Magma and OspreyDeepClean in a £31m reverse takeover, and will change its name to Proventec.
27-Jul-2005

Vp has acquired ESS Safety Services and Pivotal Training from Babcock International for £4.5m, in order to expand its Hire Station safety products business.
26-Jul-2005

Lynx Express, the package delivery company, has been acquired by United Parcel Service of the US for £56m.
26-Jul-2005

Capita has acquired BDML Connect, the personal lines insurance company, for £26m.
26-Jul-2005

First Artist Corporation is to acquire ABG Financial Management, the provider of advice to celebrities, for £3m.
25-Jul-2005

Polaron has acquired DMS Controls, the supplier of intelligent building control systems, for up to £3.5m.
25-Jul-2005

Renewable Energy Holdings has acquired the Windpark wind farm in Germany from EDF Energies Nouvelles for £33m.
21-Jul-2005

Kingspan has acquired Albion Water Heaters, the Halesowen-based manufacturer of hot water systems with 140 staff, for undisclosed terms.
21-Jul-2005

Daryl Industries, the Merseyside-based shower enclosure manufacturer with more than 200 staff, has been acquired by Kohler Mira of the US for undisclosed terms.
21-Jul-2005

Ty Europe, the Gosport-based distributor of soft toys with 35 staff, has been bought out of administration by Ty UK for undisclosed terms.
21-Jul-2005

Doughty Precision Engineering, the Nottingham-based company with 30 staff, has been acquired by Nasmyth of Pinxton for undisclosed terms.
21-Jul-2005

Semiplas, the Staffordshire-based plastics distributor, has been acquired by Centroplast Engineering Plastics of Germany.
21-Jul-2005

Carr's Billington Agriculture has acquired certain fixed assets of W&J Pye, the owner of four compound feed mills in Blackburn, Lancaster, Langwathby and Shrewsbury, out of administration, for £16m.
20-Jul-2005

Low & Bonar is to sell its Bonar Plastics division, which has a network of 12 rotational moulding plants, to the Promens subsidiary of Atorka Group of Iceland for £26m.
20-Jul-2005

Trinity Mirror is to acquire Smart Media Services, the internet marketing portal, for up to £17m.
20-Jul-2005

Deeside Furniture has been bought out of administration by Westbridge Furniture Designs of Deeside Industrial Park, securing the future of up to 250 jobs.
20-Jul-2005

Medical Report Services of Redditch has merged with Ewitness, the Leeds-based medico-legal agency with 50 staff, and the new group will trade as eReporting.
20-Jul-2005

Brannams Pottery of Barnstaple has been bought out of administration by a management team, securing the future of at least 35 jobs.
20-Jul-2005

Peerless Plastics & Coatings has undergone a management buy-out, securing the future of 28 jobs in Thetford.
20-Jul-2005

Arakis, the Saffron Walden-based drug development company, has been acquired by Sosei of Japan for £106m.
20-Jul-2005

Premier Research Group is to acquire PharmData, the US pharmaceutical services company with 40 staff, for up to £12m.
20-Jul-2005

JCB is to acquire Vibromax, the German construction equipment company with 170 staff, for undisclosed terms.
20-Jul-2005

Invensys has sold its Lambda power supply business to TDK of Japan for £134m.
20-Jul-2005

Vertase, the contaminated land specialist with offices in Bristol and Sheffield, has been acquired by FLI International.
20-Jul-2005

Ultra Electronics has acquired Audiopack Technologies, the US supplier of voice communications equipment, for £34m.
19-Jul-2005

Deltron Electronics has acquired BES Electronics, the Somerset-based supplier of products to the broadcasting industry, for £0.5m.
19-Jul-2005

BUE Marine, the Leith-based offshore support company with 622 staff, has been acquired by Topaz Energy & Marine of Dubai for £86m.
19-Jul-2005

Docuserve of Edinburgh has sold its specialist digital printing business to a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
19-Jul-2005

Industrial Cooling Systems, the Hampshire-based supplier of industrial process chilling equipment with five branches, has been bought out of administration by Cool Energy.
19-Jul-2005

Punch Taverns has acquired the Avebury Holdings chain of 409 pubs for £219m, taking its total number to 8,209.
19-Jul-2005

Cello Group has acquired The Value Engineers, the Buckinghamshire-based brand development company, for £7.2m.
19-Jul-2005

Telecity, the internet hosting company, is to return to private ownership in a £58m deal with US venture capital group Oak Hill.
19-Jul-2005

Pilkington is to acquire the assets of Autostock Distribution, the US automotive glass distributor with 21 locations.
18-Jul-2005

Deltron Electronics is to acquire Deltrona Vertriebsgesellschaft fur elektronische Bauelemente, the German distributor of electromechanical components, for £2.5m.
18-Jul-2005

North British Trust Group of Edinburgh is to sell 20 hotels to Swallow Hotels & Inns for an estimated £75m, but will retain four Scottish properties to focus on adventure tourism.
18-Jul-2005

Medlock Communications, the Manchester-based telecoms infrastructure company, has been bought out of receivership by Mivan, securing the future of 132 jobs.
18-Jul-2005

Tenon has acquired Skene & Co, the Aberdeen-based accountancy firm with 16 staff.
18-Jul-2005

Esporta has sold 13 health clubs to Virgin Active for undisclosed terms, including sites in Chelmsford, Rugby, Crawley, Birmingham, Bolton, Gloucester, Medway and six in Spain.
18-Jul-2005

Fired Earth Interiors has acquired Shaker, the furniture supplier, for undisclosed terms.
18-Jul-2005

Low & Bonar has acquired Xirion, the Belgian manufacturer of artificial grass, for £9.4m.
18-Jul-2005

Hilton has acquired Jack Brown, the Pontypridd-based chain of 141 betting shops, for £76m, in order to expand its Ladbrokes business.
18-Jul-2005

Molton Brown, the cosmetics supplier, has been acquired by Kao Corporation of Japan in a £170m deal.
18-Jul-2005

United Broadcast Facilities has acquired CTV Outside Broadcasts, the London-based company with 85 staff, from National Mobile Television for an estimated £15m.
18-Jul-2005

Superscape has acquired Penultimate Games, the US developer of mobile games, for an initial £1.7m.
15-Jul-2005

Colliers CRE has acquired Lipfriend Dawson, the Bristol-based surveyor, for £1.2m.
15-Jul-2005

Cardpoint is to acquire Moneybox in a £87m reverse takeover, creating a combined network of about 5,000 UK-based cash machines.
15-Jul-2005

Rydale Cars has acquired the former Godfrey Hall BMW dealership in Shrewsbury, and the site has been renamed Rydale Shrewsbury.
15-Jul-2005

Microgen has acquired Lynx Wealth Management Systems (Guernsey), the Hampshire-based supplier of trust, fund and private banking systems, for £2.1m.
14-Jul-2005

Alan Dines Partnership, the Reading-based quantity surveyor, has been acquired by Ridge for undisclosed terms.
14-Jul-2005

Star Energy is to acquire Pentex Management, the oil and gas company with exploration opportunities in the East Midlands Basin and the Weald Basin, for £38m.
14-Jul-2005

Stagecoach has acquired Glenvale Transport, the Merseyside-based bus company, for £3.4m.
14-Jul-2005

Legoland Parks has been acquired by US-based private equity group Blackstone for £258m, and will be combined with Blackstone's Merlin Entertainments business.
14-Jul-2005

DS Smith has sold John Dickinson Stationery, the office products manufacturer with 450 staff at sites in Cambridgeshire, Tyne & Wear and Herefordshire, to Groupe Hamelin.
13-Jul-2005

Supporta is to acquire Roger P Dudley, the Bromsgrove-based architectural firm, for £6m.
13-Jul-2005

Eezehaul has acquired APC Mobile Couriers, the Brighton-based logistics firm, for undisclosed terms.
13-Jul-2005

Thurlow Nunn has acquired the Warwick Shubrook Group of East Anglia for undisclosed terms, creating a combined group of eight Vauxhall dealerships.
13-Jul-2005

Oval Insurance has acquired Lochain Patrick, the Lloyd's insurance broker, for about £7m, and the new group will be called Lochain Patrick Oval International.
13-Jul-2005

Broker Network Holdings has acquired two Lincolnshire-based insurance brokerages - Harrow Insurance Consultants and David Christian Insurance Brokers.
13-Jul-2005

Brandon Hire has acquired three hire companies for a total £0.9m, including A1 Tool Hire of Norwich, Hire & Sales of Sheffield and Spa Plant of London, and will open new branches in Liverpool, Newcastle and Edinburgh over the next 12 months.
13-Jul-2005

Cinven has sold NCP, the car park operator, to 3i for £555m, and 3i will continue the group's transformation into a general transport services business.
13-Jul-2005

Emap Communications has acquired DeHavilland Information Services of London for £18m.
12-Jul-2005

Calyx has acquired Convergent Systems Ireland, the Irish supplier of communication solutions, for £0.4m.
12-Jul-2005

Associated British Foods has acquired the Littlewoods chain of 120 clothing stores for £409m, which will involve the conversion of 30 stores to the Primark format and the closure of the Liverpool head office with the loss of up to 270 jobs.
12-Jul-2005

Really Useful Theatres has sold four London theatres to Max Wietzenhoffer and Nica Burns for £11m, including the Apollo, the Lyric, the Duchess and the Garrick.
12-Jul-2005

Photo-Me International has acquired RG Mitchell, the Lincolnshire-based kiddie rides manufacturer with 80 staff, for £3.9m.
12-Jul-2005

William Hill is to sell 28 betting shops to the Tote for £15m, in order to win regulatory approval for the acquisition of Stanley Leisure's betting shops.
12-Jul-2005

Inmedia Communications, the satellite services company, is to be acquired by Macquarie of Australia for £70m.
11-Jul-2005

ICI is to acquire the German emulsion powders business of Celanese for £15m, in order to expand its Elotex polymeric additives business.
11-Jul-2005

RPS has acquired BHC, the Nottinghamshire-based occupational healthcare company with 60 staff, for £3.6m.
11-Jul-2005

Creston is to acquire Red Door Communications, the London-based public relations company with 32 staff, for up to £14m.
11-Jul-2005

Misys is to acquire Almonde, the supplier of risk management software with 35 staff in London and Paris, for £10m.
11-Jul-2005

Weir is to sell the water treatment operations of its Techna division to Veolia Water Systems for £28m.
11-Jul-2005

PHS Group, the washroom services company, is to be acquired by Charterhouse for £600m.
11-Jul-2005

Onyx Internet of Middlesbrough has acquired Askaris, the North Yorkshire-based internet service provider.
11-Jul-2005

United Business Media has acquired the US-based Incoming Calls Management Institute for £2.1m, in order to expand its CMP Media subsidiary.
08-Jul-2005

Aberdeen Asset Management is to acquire two fund management operations from Deutsche Asset Management, including the London and Philadelphia-based fixed income businesses and the Oeic business, funded by a £215m rights issue.
08-Jul-2005

Talarius has acquired Leisure Promotions and In To Save for a total £11m, increasing its estate of Quicksilver amusement centres from 129 to 142.
08-Jul-2005

Sanderson Group has acquired Progressive Computer Systems, the Batley-based provider of browser software with 22 staff, for up to £1.7m.
08-Jul-2005

Intermodal Resource is to acquire Taylored Hire, the truck and trailer contract hire company based in the North West, for £1.9m.
08-Jul-2005

Laplace Electrical has acquired RE Dew, the Reading-based controls company with 15 staff, for about £0.6m.
08-Jul-2005

United Co-op Health Care has acquired Sheard Group, the chain of seven pharmacies in Leeds and Harrogate, as well as Saffer Chemists, which has two stores in Leeds, for undisclosed terms.
08-Jul-2005

Rok Property Solutions has acquired Topcon, the Grimsby-based construction company with 62 staff, for £3.2m, as well as Lemmeleg Building & Contracting, the Wakefield company with 107 staff, for £1.7m.
07-Jul-2005

Access Intelligence has acquired Due North, the Newcastle-based provider of e-commerce solutions, for an initial £1.5m.
07-Jul-2005

Disperse Group has acquired Hanworth Laboratories, the Cambridge-based manufacturer of cosmetics and toiletries with 55 staff, for £0.4m.
07-Jul-2005

Reg Vardy is to acquire five car dealerships from Priory Motor Group for £16m, including a BMW and a Mini site in North Tyneside, Vauxhall sites in Blaydon and Gateshead, and a Kia and Chevrolet dealership in Gateshead.
07-Jul-2005

Viking Outsourcing has acquired the Ignite customer contact centre in Hartlepool for undisclosed terms, and the 120-strong workforce is expected to double over the next 12 months.
07-Jul-2005

Esslemont & Macintosh, the Aberdeen-based department store with 120 staff, has been acquired by Owen Owen for undisclosed terms.
07-Jul-2005

Eurotel, the Halifax-based telecoms company with 320 staff, has undergone a £20m management buy-out.
07-Jul-2005

Vernalis is to acquire Ionix Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge-based biotechnology company, for £12m.
07-Jul-2005

Aegis Group has acquired Digithais Network Company, the Thailand-based marketing agency, for up to £3.4m.
06-Jul-2005

Kewill Systems is to acquire Perwill, the Hampshire-based IT solutions company with 20 staff, for £2m.
06-Jul-2005

Ryland Group has acquired the Jeep dealership in Sutton Coldfield from All Electric for undisclosed terms.
06-Jul-2005

Southampton Saab has acquired WhiteQuay, the Saab dealership with sites in Reading and Newbury, for undisclosed terms.
06-Jul-2005

NG Bailey has sold its switchgear and instrumentation business, which is based in Bradford and employs 275 staff, to Powell Industries of the US for undisclosed terms.
06-Jul-2005

Doughty Hanson has sold the Priory group of rehabilitation clinics to Dutch bank ABN Amro for £875m.
06-Jul-2005

SmartFocus has acquired Aims Software, the French supplier of marketing software, for £1m.
06-Jul-2005

Northgate is to acquire Record Rent, the Spanish vehicle rental company, for up to £95m.
06-Jul-2005

Harrods has sold Kurt Geiger, its luxury shoe retailing business with more than 100 department store concessions, to a management buy-out backed by Barclays Private Equity for £46m.
06-Jul-2005

Amec has acquired PK SAS, the French electrical engineering company with 35 staff.
05-Jul-2005

Formjet has acquired SouthCoast Distributions, the supplier of OEM software products with annual turnover of £1.7m.
05-Jul-2005

Bunzl has acquired Tecep France, the French packaging supplier with operations in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Poland.
05-Jul-2005

Broker Network Holdings has acquired Fraser Tennant, the Stirling-based insurance broker, for up to £2.8m.
05-Jul-2005

Arrk Product Development Group has acquired the engineering and technical staffing service operations of MSX International UK, including 150 staff in Basildon and Coventry.
05-Jul-2005

Zenith Vehicle Contracts, the Leeds-based car leasing company, has undergone a £27m management buy-out backed by Dunedin Capital Partners.
05-Jul-2005

Wakefield Acoustics, the Cleckheaton-based supplier of noise control products with 20 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
05-Jul-2005

Nautical Petroleum, the North Sea oil company, has acquired Alba Resources for £14m and First Mariner for £3m, and has also raised £8m in a share placing.
05-Jul-2005

Greene King has acquired TD Ridley & Sons, the Essex-based pub operator, for £46m, and Ridley's Chelmsford brewery will close with the loss of up to 85 jobs.
05-Jul-2005

Statpro Group is to acquire Delve, the London-based developer of investment management software, for up to £4m.
05-Jul-2005

Spice Holdings is to acquire Lamva, the provider of civil and electrical services to the electricity utility sector with 215 staff, for £5.9m.
04-Jul-2005

InterQuest Group has acquired two Essex-based IT recruitment specialists for up to £1.2m - FJB (Contracts) and Maxridge.
04-Jul-2005

Jelf Group has acquired the financial services business of Crowther Beard, the accountancy group with offices in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.
04-Jul-2005

MBNA, the credit card company with 4,000 staff in Chester, is to be acquired by Bank of America in a £20bn deal.
04-Jul-2005

Brulines, the Teesside-based pub equipment company with 110 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms backed by Bank of Scotland Corporate.
04-Jul-2005

Readmans, the Leeds-based clothing and homewares retailer, has been bought out of administration by the founding family, securing the future of more than 100 jobs.
04-Jul-2005

Nationwide has acquired Gemini Accident Repair Centres, the operator of 11 bodyshops in the West Midlands.
04-Jul-2005

RDL, the Paignton-based electrical goods manufacturer with 48 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
04-Jul-2005

Telephonetics, the developer of voice recognition software, is to acquire Leptis Manga in a £16m reverse takeover.
04-Jul-2005

HSA has acquired Adastral, the provider of occupational health and safety services to companies, for about £2m.
04-Jul-2005

Cello Group has acquired Leapfrog Research & Planning, the Windsor-based market research company, for up to £6m.
04-Jul-2005

Microgen has acquired Rbase, the Camberley-based SAP software consultancy, for £1.2m.
04-Jul-2005

Gala has acquired New Generation Bingo, the owner of the Club 2000 bingo club in Basingstoke, for £18m.
04-Jul-2005

Speedy Hire is to acquire the internal plant hire operations of MJ Gleeson for £8.2m.
04-Jul-2005

Torex Retail is to acquire Anker, the Bolton-based retail software supplier with 1,250 staff, for £99m.
04-Jul-2005

Dryden Wealth Management, the private wealth manager, has been acquired by Fortis for £57m.
04-Jul-2005

Careforce has acquired The Gentle Touch, the Northamptonshire-based home care provider, for £0.2m.
01-Jul-2005

Mitie has acquired The Watch Security, the Warwick-based provider of manned guarding and electronic security services, for £6m.
01-Jul-2005

Abbot Group has acquired Prosafe Drilling Services, the Norwegian offshore drilling contractor, for £75m.
01-Jul-2005

Intellego is to acquire Modinex, the SAP software training consultancy, for £0.3m.
01-Jul-2005

Norse Merchant Ferries, the ferry operator with 450 staff at terminals in Birkenhead, Belfast and Dublin, is to be acquired by Norfolkline for undisclosed terms.
01-Jul-2005

West Midlands Co-op is planning to merge with Oxford, Swindon & Gloucester Co-op, creating a combined group with more than 350 stores and a turnover of £500m.
01-Jul-2005

PTM, the Stockport-based engineering company with 38 staff, has undergone a £2m management buy-out.
01-Jul-2005

Ravenscroft Plastics of Tewkesbury has been bought out of receivership by Flamstead Holdings for undisclosed terms, and will be renamed HL Ravenscroft.
01-Jul-2005

Heritage Pub Company has sold its chain of 231 pubs to the Globe Pub Company for about £79m, and the leased sites will be operated by Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises.
01-Jul-2005

Huntleigh Technology has acquired the cardiovascular and obstetric analysis and monitoring operations of VIASYS Healthcare for £4m.
30-Jun-2005

Anglia Vale has bought Paramount Plastic Productions, the Ely-based injection moulder, out of administration.
30-Jun-2005

Compel Group is to acquire The Brewton Group, the IT rental company that trades as Hire IT and has 58 staff in Bracknell and London, for £3m.
29-Jun-2005

Alsters Kelley Solicitors, the Coventry-based law firm with 185 staff, has merged with Richards, Heynes & Coopers.
29-Jun-2005

Smart & Cook has acquired Hammon Osborne, the Northampton-based insurance broker with about 40 staff, for undisclosed terms.
29-Jun-2005

Solectron has acquired ServiceSource Europe, the computer parts supplier with 200 staff at sites in Warrington, Reading, London, Bristol and Dublin, for an estimated £12m.
29-Jun-2005

Goodmarriott & Hursthouse, the electrical contractor with more than 200 staff in Nottingham and Leeds, has been acquired by Imtech of the Netherlands.
29-Jun-2005

Chime Communications is to acquire VCCP, the London-based advertising agency with 90 staff, for £30m.
29-Jun-2005

Synergy Healthcare is to acquire Shiloh, the supplier of healthcare products, for £8.7m.
29-Jun-2005

House of Fraser has agreed to acquire the Beatties chain of 12 department stores for £69m.
29-Jun-2005

Spirax-Sarco Engineering has acquired EMCO Flow Systems, the US flow measurement company, for £2.5m.
28-Jun-2005

Dipford Group has acquired Kings Business Transfer, the Manchester-based business broker, for £2.1m.
28-Jun-2005

Meggitt is to acquire Avery-Hardoll, the Dorset-based manufacturer of fluid handling products with 52 staff, from Cobham for £8m.
28-Jun-2005

Walton Hall, the stately home near Stratford-upon-Avon, has been acquired by Dawnay Shore Hotels for £15m, and £10m will be spent converting it into a 200-room hotel with conference facilities.
28-Jun-2005

The BBC is to sell its BBC Broadcast transmission business to Macquarie of Australia for £166m.
28-Jun-2005

Microscience, the vaccine developer, has been acquired by Emergent Biosolutions of the US for undisclosed terms.
27-Jun-2005

Centrica has acquired a 51% stake in SPE, the Belgian power generating company, in a £507m joint venture with Gaz de France that also involves the sale of Centrica's Luminus business to SPE.
27-Jun-2005

Kwik-Fit, the car repair company with 670 service centres in the UK and 1,000 in continental Europe, has been acquired by PAI of France for £800m.
27-Jun-2005

Laurel Pub Company has acquired 98 of SFI's 150 pubs for £80m, and the remaining 52 sites have gone into administration through PwC.
27-Jun-2005

SIG has acquired LS Group, the commercial interiors manufacturer with 560 staff at sites in Barnstaple, Langley Mill and Sheffield, for an initial £45m.
27-Jun-2005

Pro-Pak Foods, the Malton-based meat and ready meals company with 300 staff, has been acquired by TiCan of Denmark for undisclosed terms.
27-Jun-2005

Innovate Logistics has acquired Phil Hanley, the refrigerated transport and storage company with 320 staff at sites in Newark, Grantham, Leeds, Ashford and Westbury.
27-Jun-2005

Quinn Plastics has acquired Polyex, the Derbyshire-based polycarbonate extruder, and Victoria Plastics of Hull for undisclosed terms.
27-Jun-2005

Sage Group is to acquire Logic Control, the Spanish supplier of business management software, for £55m.
24-Jun-2005

Berkeley Group is to sell Crosby Group, the residential property developer with offices in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, to Lend Lease for £236m.
24-Jun-2005

MyTravel is to sell its stake in the Hotetur resort hotel group in Palma to Teinver for £19m.
24-Jun-2005

Pearson is to acquire AGS Publishing, the US educational publisher, from WRC Media for £148m.
24-Jun-2005

Top Ten Holdings has acquired Westvale Leisure, the parent company of Walker Leisure and operator of 13 bingo clubs in the Midlands and the north, for £5.4m.
24-Jun-2005

Symbiosis Group, the London-based print services firm with 30 staff that trades under the names of Octopus, POS Promotions and Whitewater, has undergone a management buy-in for undisclosed terms.
24-Jun-2005

Spooner Vicars, the Merseyside-based manufacturer of production lines for the food industry with 111 staff, has been acquired by Avalanche Holdings of the US.
24-Jun-2005

Tomkins has acquired Eifeler Maschinenebau, the German manufacturer of hydraulic tube fittings with annual sales of £19m.
23-Jun-2005

Ascribe has acquired Park Systems, the Liverpool-based supplier of retail pharmacy computer systems, for up to £0.4m, and the business will relocate to Ascribe's headquarters in Bolton.
23-Jun-2005

Pennon is to acquire Brett Waste Management, the operator of landfill and power generation sites in Kent and Essex, for an estimated £50m.
23-Jun-2005

Sigma 3 has acquired Hammonds & Co, the Sussex-based supplier of kitchens and bathrooms with 20 staff, for undisclosed terms.
23-Jun-2005

The Grove Wharf and Neap House 190-acre port complex on the River Trent in North Lincolnshire has been sold to a management team for an estimated £25m.
23-Jun-2005

Ratcliff, the Welwyn Garden City-based tail-lift manufacturer with 220 staff, has been acquired by Palfinger of Austria for undisclosed terms.
23-Jun-2005

The Restaurant Group has acquired the Blubeckers chain of 17 restaurants from CI Traders for £27m.
23-Jun-2005

SR Pharma is planning to acquire Atugen, the German biotechnology company with 30 staff, in a reverse takeover.
22-Jun-2005

Brady is to acquire Tradesoft, the Dutch supplier of software solutions to commodity traders.
22-Jun-2005

XN Checkout has acquired EpoS Computing Services, the Milton Keynes-based provider of electronic point of sale systems, for about £4m.
22-Jun-2005

Jarrold is to acquire Aldiss, the chain of furniture stores with 250 staff in Fakenham and Norwich, for an estimated £50m.
22-Jun-2005

Avon Rubber has acquired International Safety Instruments, the US breathing apparatus manufacturer, for £13m.
22-Jun-2005

Emap is to acquire the remaining 73% of Scottish Radio Holdings, and SRH's regional newspaper business will be sold to Johnston Press for £155m.
22-Jun-2005

All3Media has agreed to acquire Mersey Television, the Liverpool-based TV production company, in a deal estimated at more than £40m.
22-Jun-2005

Amec is to acquire NNC Holdings, the nuclear services group with about 1,000 staff, from British Nuclear Fuels and 3i for £25m.
22-Jun-2005

WPP has acquired Dynamic Logic, the online market research company with 65 staff in the US and London, in order to expand its Millward Brown business.
21-Jun-2005

RAB Capital is to acquire Cross Asset Management, the London-based investment management company, for £9.5m.
21-Jun-2005

Imagesound has acquired Ideal Music, the supplier of music and radio services to retailers with offices in Newbury and London, for an initial £0.6m.
21-Jun-2005

Delling Group is to acquire Full Bredde, the Norwegian subcontractor for delivering printed marketing material, for £0.3m.
21-Jun-2005

Heinz is to acquire the HP, Lea & Perrins and Amoy sauce brands from Danone, prompting speculation that up to 400 jobs could be cut at factories in Birmingham and Worcester and an office on London.
21-Jun-2005

Cobham has acquired Vector Fields, the Oxfordshire-based supplier of software for the design of equipment which involves electromagnetic fields, for £1.2m.
20-Jun-2005

Wightlink, the Isle of Wight ferry service, is to be acquired by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund.
20-Jun-2005

Autotype International, the specialist film coating company with annual turnover of £48m, has been acquired by MacDermid of the US.
20-Jun-2005

Psion has acquired Symagery Microsystems, the Canadian provider of image processing services, for £2m.
20-Jun-2005

Roxboro is to sell its Mobrey process measurement and control equipment business to Emerson of the US for £26m.
20-Jun-2005

HBOS is to acquire the life assurance business of MLP of Germany for up to £216m, in order to expand its Clerical Medical division.
20-Jun-2005

Wagamama, the chain of 32 noodle bars, has been acquired by Lion Capital for £103m.
20-Jun-2005

Boldon James, the messaging solutions company, has undergone a £5.5m management buy-out backed by ISIS Equity Partners.
17-Jun-2005

Healthcare Enterprise Group is to acquire CICS, the supplier of sterile kits and other disposable products to dentists, for up to £3m.
17-Jun-2005

Smallbone is to acquire Mark Wilkinson Furniture, the Wiltshire-based manufacturer of kitchen furniture with 290 staff and eight showrooms, for up to £5.6m.
17-Jun-2005

ML Laboratories is to acquire Quadrant Technologies, the Nottingham-based pulmonary drug delivery specialist with 35 staff, for £47m, and has also announced plans to change its name to Innovata.
17-Jun-2005

Gyrus Group is to acquire American Cystoscope Makers, the US-based medical device supplier with 900 staff, for £275m.
17-Jun-2005

Documedia, the digital print and marketing services company, has undergone a reverse takeover by Tangent Communications, the parent company of London Digital Printing Group.
17-Jun-2005

United Business Media is to acquire Theme, the hospitality magazine, and Bar, the hospitality exhibition, from Mondiale Publishing for £5m.
16-Jun-2005

Local Radio Company has acquired Bath FM, the Bath-based commercial radio station, for an initial £0.4m.
16-Jun-2005

Civica is to acquire Flare Software Systems, the provider of environmental health and trading standards services, for £9m.
16-Jun-2005

DCC is to acquire Pilton, the distributor of computer games in Ireland and the UK, for £24m.
16-Jun-2005

Lafarge has acquired Castle Cement's import terminal in West Thurrock, Essex, for undisclosed terms.
16-Jun-2005

Zi Medical is to acquire Oxford NewTech, the pharmaceutical devices and diagnostics company, for £5m.
15-Jun-2005

ECI Partners has acquired Taylor Continental Holdings, the Kidderminster-based manufacturer of trade waste containers with 200 staff, for undisclosed terms.
15-Jun-2005

European Motor Holdings is to acquire SKF Holdings, the chain of 18 car franchises in the north, for £30m.
15-Jun-2005

Tunstall, the supplier of equipment that enables the elderly to communicate with hospitals from home, has been acquired by Bridgepoint for £225m.
15-Jun-2005

Newell & Budge, the Edinburgh-based IT company with more than 600 staff, has been acquired by Sopra Group of France for undisclosed terms.
15-Jun-2005

Leader Communications, the Henley in Arden-based public relations agency, has merged with The Immediate Consultancy of Solihull.
14-Jun-2005

Harlands, the Hull-based label printing company, has been acquired by Clondalkin Group in a £8.5m deal.
14-Jun-2005

Land Securities has acquired LXB Properties, the owner of two retail parks and ten supermarket sites, from Baugur for £360m.
14-Jun-2005

Luminar has sold 49 nightclubs and bars to a management buy-out, operating under the name of Candu Entertainment and backed by Close Brothers Private Equity, for £27m, and £10m will be spent on refurbishing the sites.
14-Jun-2005

Kier has acquired Ashwood Homes, the housebuilder operating in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, for £24m.
14-Jun-2005

Torex Retail has acquired XN Checkout, the supplier of electronic point-of-sale terminals, in a £72m deal.
13-Jun-2005

Autocue International has been acquired by Root Capital for an estimated £2m.
13-Jun-2005

United Drug has acquired TD Packaging, the Swindon-based packaging supplier with more than 200 staff, for £7.4m.
13-Jun-2005

Scott Timber Group has acquired Brennan, the Wirral-based pallet manufacturer, and the Brennan site will close with the transfer of 15 staff to sites in Widnes and Wigan.
13-Jun-2005

Tyco Plastics has sold its plastic films business, which has 380 staff at plants in Potters Bar, Preston, Leeds and Brighouse, to Gil Investments for undisclosed terms.
13-Jun-2005

Inveresk is to sell its Gemini paperboard brand to Tullis Russell Papermakers of Glenrothes for up to £7m, which is expected to involve the closure of its Carrongrove Mill in Stirlingshire in November with the loss of 150 jobs.
10-Jun-2005

Spirax-Sarco Engineering has acquired Actuators & Controls and Proportional Control Technology of South Africa for £2.3m.
10-Jun-2005

William Ransom & Son is to acquire Optima Healthcare, the supplier of aloe vera products with sites in Cardiff, Bradford and Newbury, for £23m.
10-Jun-2005

Aegis Group is to acquire AMT, the Italian market research company, for an initial £1.1m, in order to expand its Synovate global research network.
10-Jun-2005

Tanfield Group is to acquire the assets of Norquip, the supplier of lifts and ramps, and Saxon, the supplier of specialist vehicles, for a total £0.3m.
10-Jun-2005

Britannic Group is to merge with Resolution Life Group, creating a combined closed life fund business valued at about £1.8bn.
10-Jun-2005

Mersey Docks & Harbour Company is to be acquired by Peel Ports for £771m, which could lead to new leisure and retail developments on the Liverpool waterfront.
10-Jun-2005

Asda is to announce plans to set up its first store on Anglesey, with the creation of 120 jobs, having bought a site in Llangefni from Safeway.
10-Jun-2005

N Brown, the home shopping group, has sold its personal loans business to an unnamed buyer for £10m.
10-Jun-2005

Grabor Plastics, the Suffolk-based extrusion blow moulder and bottle decorator, has been acquired by Polimoon for undisclosed terms.
10-Jun-2005

David Webster has sold its Hertfordshire-based street lighting and project management business to the ETDE subsidiary of Bouygues.
09-Jun-2005

Lornamead has bought Vosene shampoo and other personal care brands from Procter & Gamble for undisclosed terms.
09-Jun-2005

Invensys has sold most of its Advanced Building Systems business to Schneider Electric of France for £81m.
09-Jun-2005

Premier Research is to acquire EPA Euro Pharma Auftragsforschung, the German pharmaceutical contract research organisation, for an initial £3.2m.
08-Jun-2005

Hodkin & Jones, the building products company with two sites in Sheffield and one in Dronfield, has undergone a management buy-out.
08-Jun-2005

Hyder Consulting has acquired Weathered Howe, the Australian engineering consultancy with about 100 staff, for an initial £1.6m.
07-Jun-2005

Stanelco is to acquire Biotec Group, the German developer of environmentally-responsible packaging systems, for £14m.
07-Jun-2005

Asda has bought 12 Safeway stores in Northern Ireland from Morrisons for £74m, and will spend £30m redeveloping the stores.
07-Jun-2005

Aga Foodservice has acquired Waterford Stanley, the Irish manufacturer of cast iron cookers, for £9.3m.
07-Jun-2005

Diageo is to acquire the Bushmills Irish whiskey brand from Pernod Ricard for about £200m.
07-Jun-2005

Premier Foods is to acquire Marlow Foods, the manufacturer of Quorn substitute meat products, from Montagu Private Equity for £172m.
07-Jun-2005

Centrica is to acquire Oxxio, the Dutch energy supplier with 95 staff, for £92m.
07-Jun-2005

Cannon Avent, the supplier of baby care products, is to be acquired by Charterhouse Development Capital for about £300m.
07-Jun-2005

Signature Restaurants has sold The Ivy and five other London-based restaurants to the new owner of Wentworth Golf Club for about £31m.
07-Jun-2005

Mind's Eye Productions, the producer of interactive TV games, has been acquired by Walt Disney Company of the US for undisclosed terms.
06-Jun-2005

Hackett, the outfitter with 12 shops, has been acquired by Torreal of Spain for about £15m.
06-Jun-2005

Grays Personnel, the recruitment agency with offices in Horsham, Epsom, Sutton, and Worthing, has been acquired by the Berry Recruitment subsidiary of Multi for £0.3m.
06-Jun-2005

Stag Furniture has undergone a management buy-out from Silentnight for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 650 workers at its Sunderland factory.
06-Jun-2005

Bureau Veritas has acquired Casella Consulting, the environmental health consultancy with 490 staff at 17 offices, for £30m.
03-Jun-2005

Chesnara has acquired City of Westminster Assurance Company from Irish Life & Permanent for £47m.
03-Jun-2005

VT Group has sold VT TSS, the supplier of sensors, navigational aids and detection equipment with offices in Watford, Aberdeen and the US, to a management buy-out.
03-Jun-2005

K3 Business Technology is to acquire Information Engineering Group, the Manchester-based distributor of enterprise resource planning software, for an initial £3.8m.
03-Jun-2005

Access Intelligence is to acquire Ridgeway, the owner of the Willow IT service for the backup and storage of data, for an initial £0.7m.
03-Jun-2005

Inca Digital, the Cambridge-based ink-jet press developer, has been acquired by Dainippon Screen of Japan for £30m.
03-Jun-2005

John Millar & Sons has been bought out of receivership by Wallace & Allan, saving 83 jobs at its confectionery plant in Broxburn.
03-Jun-2005

SCC has acquired TBI-Proxis Services, the French IT services company with 550 staff, for undisclosed terms.
03-Jun-2005

Newsco, the regional newspaper publisher with annual turnover of £3m, has undergone a management buy-out.
03-Jun-2005

Sandicliffe has acquired the Chevrolet and Mazda franchises in Nottingham from the Gordon Lamb Group, with the transfer of 40 staff.
03-Jun-2005

PlastxWorld, the Bedfordshire-based ancillary equipment supplier, has gone into administration through FA Simms of Lutterworth.
03-Jun-2005

Windsor has acquired Anthony K Falcon, the London-based insurance broker, for up to £4.2m.
02-Jun-2005

Aegis Group is to acquire the outdoor media-related assets of JKJ Media Services of the Philippines for up to £8m, as well as HYPERmedia of Poland for up to £4.9m and ARTea of France for £2m.
02-Jun-2005

Smith & Williamson has merged with Bristol-based Soloman Hare, creating a combined accounting and financial advisory firm with annual turnover of £120m.
02-Jun-2005

Snappy Snaps is to acquire the FotoStop Express network of 267 independent photography traders.
02-Jun-2005

Wernick Group has acquired Accommodation Hire of Wolverhampton and CDC of the West Country, taking its network of modular building hire depots to 30.
02-Jun-2005

Tellings Golden Miller has sold its London Bus business to National Express for £20m.
02-Jun-2005

Fairline, the Northamptonshire-based powerboat manufacturer with 1,100 staff, has undergone a £40m management buy-out backed by 3i.
02-Jun-2005

T&F Informa has acquired IIR Holdings, the trade conferences and exhibitions group with more than 3,000 staff in 70 countries, for £768m.
02-Jun-2005

Mavinwood has acquired Ansa Holdings, the provider of drainage services, for £17m.
02-Jun-2005

Scottish Radio Holdings is to acquire Donegal Highland Radio of Ireland for about £4.7m.
01-Jun-2005

Tarsus Group is to acquire two French exhibition companies - Mobile Office SA and Heavent SAS - for up to £10m.
01-Jun-2005

SLR has acquired Waste Management Engineering, the environmental engineering consultancy, in order to extend the range of waste management services offered to industry and local government.
01-Jun-2005

Great Northern Envelopes, the Leeds-based envelope supplier with 123 staff, has undergone a management buy-out backed by YFM Private Equity and Matrix Private Equity.
01-Jun-2005

Eicom has acquired Job Channel, the interactive job advertising channel, from Multimedia Television for an initial £0.1m.
31-May-2005

Cardinal Packaging has secured a £6m investment to fund the expansion of its carrier bag manufacturing business in Ebbw Vale, with the creation of 66 new jobs.
31-May-2005

International Power is to acquire the Saltend power station near Hull from Calpine, in a £500m deal with Mitsui.
31-May-2005

Somerfield has sold its Mace wholesale operations in Scotland to Palmer & Harvey McLane, which is expected to lead to the closure of the Aberness Service Centre in Aberdeen with the loss of 75 jobs.
30-May-2005

The Entertainer is planning to buy the Gadget Shop name out of administration and open between five and ten pilot stores.
30-May-2005

Avebury Taverns has sold 253 pubs to Admiral Taverns for about £70m, and the remaining chain of 450 pubs is now expected to be put up for sale.
30-May-2005

Friends Provident is to sell Isis Equity Partners to its 37-strong investment staff for up to £10m.
30-May-2005

International Greetings is to acquire Anker International for up to £35m, in order to expand its giftwrap and stationery business.
30-May-2005

Scottish & Newcastle is to sell the UK distribution rights for Beck's beer to InBev in a £67m deal, and the proceeds will be used to advertise its core brands.
30-May-2005

Infast, the component services company, is to be acquired by Anixter for £39m.
30-May-2005

Hydro International has acquired Vexamus Water, the Ely-based supplier of water treatment equipment, for under £0.2m.
27-May-2005

Carclo is to sell its ECC Card Clothing business, including operations in the UK, France, Italy, Turkey, Canada, India, China and the US to NV Bekaert for up to £8.6m.
27-May-2005

Huntsworth is to acquire Neisser Communications, the Austrian communications company, for up to £0.8m.
27-May-2005

Go-Ahead is to acquire Southern Vectis, the operator of 150 buses on the Isle of Wight and in Hampshire, for £14m.
27-May-2005

Formpro has merged with Mail Marketing International to create a combined commercial printing business with sites in Cheddar, Bristol and Weston-super-Mare.
27-May-2005

David Powell Bakeries of Hampshire is to be acquired by the Kidderminster-based subsidiary of Rich Products Corporation of the US.
27-May-2005

Chameleon Skaife has acquired Concorde Tape Solutions of Bradford for £1m, creating a combined spool winding contractor with 37 staff.
27-May-2005

Disperse Group is to acquire The Woods of Windsor Group, the distributor and retailer of personal care and fragranced products with 14 shops and 80 concessions, for £4.6m.
26-May-2005

Freshwater has acquired Quantum PR, the Birmingham-based public relations company, for undisclosed terms.
26-May-2005

Bondvend, the Wirral-based sportswear company trading as The Soccer Kit Company, has undergone a £1.6m management buy-in.
26-May-2005

DDD Security Systems of Coventry has undergone a £0.7m management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland, and the 15-strong workforce is expected to increase.
26-May-2005

Davis Service is to sell its Elliott modular buildings business to a management buy-out backed by TDR Capital for £166m.
26-May-2005

Wavegen, the Inverness-based developer of wave power stations, has been acquired by Voith Siemens Hydro of Germany.
25-May-2005

Met Surveys has acquired JSM Designs, the Leeds-based civil and structural engineering and transport consultancy, creating a combined group with 70 staff.
25-May-2005

The Print Factory has acquired the McCorquodales printing business in Milton Keynes, and one option being considered is the closure of the site with the loss of 90 jobs and the transfer of production to its sites in Swindon and Northampton.
25-May-2005

NetServices has acquired Telefonica UK, the London-based internet services business, retaining just 15 of the 45 staff, and the combined group will be floated on Aim in September.
25-May-2005

Merchant Retail, the chain of 110 perfume shops, has accepted a £222m takeover offer from AS Watson, the Hong Kong-based owner of Superdrug.
25-May-2005

Scottish Power is to sell its PacifiCorp electricity generation and supply business in the US to Berkshire Hathaway for £5.1bn.
25-May-2005

Britannia Building Society is to acquire 97 Bristol & West bank branches from Bank of Ireland in a £150m deal, and about 32 branches are expected to close with the rest being rebranded as Britannia.
25-May-2005

N Brown is to sell Teleview, its Leigh-based television rental business with almost 100 staff, to Martin Dawes of Warrington for £6.3m.
24-May-2005

Rexam is to sell its Barnsley-based glass packaging business to Ardagh Glass for £50m.
24-May-2005

Ascribe has acquired Footman Walker, the supplier of information systems to accident and minor injuries units, for £2.6m.
24-May-2005

Taylor & Jones, the Huddersfield-based tooling manufacturer with 35 staff, has undergone a £1m management buy-in.
24-May-2005

Clark Business Products has merged with Bath-based 1st Office Equipment Group and Bristol-based Braley Reprographics to form a new group called 1st Office, and there are plans to open new franchised shops across the south west.
24-May-2005

United Agri Products, the Cambridgeshire-based supplier of agrochemicals with 250 staff at a nationwide network of sites, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
23-May-2005

Labtech Modular Engineering, the Aberdeen-based manufacturer of accommodation units with 80 staff, has been acquired by a new company called ABZ, backed by Aberdeen Murray Johnstone.
23-May-2005

Fine Colour Packaging has acquired Smurfit Cartons Witham, the Chelmsford-based cartons manufacturer with 90 staff, from Smurfit Cartons UK.
23-May-2005

Unilever is to sell its worldwide perfume operations to Coty for £438m, including a manufacturing site in the US and a distribution centre in France.
23-May-2005

Burford has sold the Trocadero leisure complex in London's Leicester Square to property investment company Golfrate for about £220m, and the site will be revamped with a hotel and larger retail units.
23-May-2005

Yates Group, the pub operator, has been acquired by investment vehicle T20 for £202m.
23-May-2005

Kingston Communications has sold Arche Communications of France to Telindus of Belgium for £32m.
23-May-2005

Centrica has sold British Gas Connections, its gas transportation business, to Kellen Ventures, a new company formed by East Surrey Holdings and Terra Firma, for £90m.
20-May-2005

Jelf Group has acquired RK Harrison Insurance of Taunton for £1m.
20-May-2005

Wilmington Group has acquired Quorum Training, the provider of training programmes to finance departments, for £1.5m.
20-May-2005

Walker Hamill, the London-based recruitment consultant, is to undergo a second management buy-out for £10m.
20-May-2005

Bank Machine, the Hatfield-based ATM operator with 50 staff, has been acquired by Cardtronics of the US.
20-May-2005

Helix Associates, the private equity fund placement firm with 17 staff, has been acquired by Jefferies Group of the US for undisclosed terms.
20-May-2005

Maxol is to acquire 13 Esso-owned petrol stations in Northern Ireland, and will invest £5m modernising the sites over the next two years.
19-May-2005

ADR Accident Repair Centres has bought the Gordon Helliwell bodyshop in Pontefract out of receivership.
19-May-2005

David McLean has acquired Jennings, the Midlands-based housebuilder, for £38m, and is now looking to expand into Yorkshire and the north-east.
19-May-2005

Smiths Group has acquired ETI Technology, the US specialist in the detection of harmful biological agents, for £2m.
18-May-2005

Homebuy Group has acquired BC Acquisition for £28m, in order to expand its customer base for rented televisions and other electrical equipment.
18-May-2005

Mouchel Parkman has acquired ServiGroup, the rail signalling, telecoms and power engineering group, for £15m.
18-May-2005

Yell is to acquire TransWestern, the US publisher of 332 phone directories, for £861m.
18-May-2005

Easy i, the developer of company learning programmes with about 40 staff in Norwich and Kenilworth, has been acquired by SAI Global of Australia.
17-May-2005

Ultralase, the chain of 12 laser eye surgeries, has been acquired by Corporacion Dermoestetica of Spain for £30m.
17-May-2005

Smythson of Bond Street, the stationery retailer, has been acquired by Kelso Place Asset Management for £16m.
17-May-2005

William Hill is to acquire 624 betting shops from Stanley Leisure for £504m, taking its total estate to 2,237.
17-May-2005

Joseph, the chain of 63 fashion stores, has been acquired by Onward Kashiyama of Japan for £140m.
17-May-2005

Netstore is to acquire Cassium, the IT services company that supplies the finance and telecoms sectors, for £5.6m.
17-May-2005

Torex Retail has acquired Retail Store Systems, the US supplier of retail management systems, for £15m.
17-May-2005

Audio Processing Technology, the Belfast-based audio compression company with 15 staff, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Crescent Capital and Trinity Venture Capital.
16-May-2005

KPMG has sold former Rathbones bakeries in Walsall, Leicester and Peterborough, as well as a Carlisle distribution centre, to two former directors operating under the name of Harvestime, securing the future of about 1,000 jobs.
16-May-2005

Quintic, the Cambridge-based CAD software company in Cambridge with 17 staff, has been acquired by CAD Schroer of Germany for undisclosed terms.
16-May-2005

Infratec has acquired RT Masts, the Wellingborough-based cable installation company with more than 70 staff, for undisclosed terms.
16-May-2005

Vail Williams has acquired Woudman Consultancy, the East Sussex-based building surveyor.
16-May-2005

Savills has acquired Mansfield Elstob Main, the Bristol-based chain of 12 retail property agents, for undisclosed terms.
16-May-2005

Telewest has acquired full ownership of Sit-up TV, the owner of Price-drop TV and Bid TV, in a £98m deal.
16-May-2005

Cadbury Schweppes has acquired Green & Black's, the London-based organic confectionery company with 30 staff, for undisclosed terms.
16-May-2005

Abermed Industrial Doctors, the Aberdeen-based occupational health services firm, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Northern Venture Managers.
13-May-2005

Kainos is to invest £3.3m in the expansion of its Belfast-based IT services business, with the creation of up to 45 new jobs over the next year.
13-May-2005

Palmaris Capital is to sell its plant hire and services business to Patersons Quarries for an initial £1.2m.
13-May-2005

Future has acquired Cheat Planet, the US computer games website, from Echo Software & Hardware for £4.6m.
13-May-2005

Nichols has acquired Beacon Soft Drinks, the Brighton-based supplier of drinks to pubs and clubs, for about £3m.
13-May-2005

Blendex Food Ingredients, the seasoning manufacturer with 74 staff at a factory in Hetton-le-Hole, has undergone a management buy-out.
13-May-2005

Lookers has acquired IS Cars, the used car dealer in Burton-upon-Trent, for £12m.
13-May-2005

Alltools has acquired Worcester Tools & Fixings, creating a combined group with 40 staff and four branches.
13-May-2005

Whiteley Insurance Consultants of Halifax has been sold by its liquidators, with Travel & General Insurance Company acquiring the travel business and WY Risk Management acquiring the commercial insurance division.
13-May-2005

TJ International, the Cornwall-based book manufacturer with 145 staff, has been sold by Ulverscroft Foundation to a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
13-May-2005

Lastminute.com, the online travel company, is to be acquired by Sabre Holdings, the owner of Travelocity, for £577m.
12-May-2005

A-Plant has acquired Howard Plant, the Poole-based plant and tool hirer, for £0.4m.
12-May-2005

GVA Grimley has acquired Wright & Co, the Edinburgh-based building surveyor.
11-May-2005

Quadriga Concepts has acquired Metropolitan Stone, the Wokingham-based stone restoration company, for undisclosed terms.
11-May-2005

United Business Media has acquired ABI Building Data from Emap for £12m, in order to improve its services to the construction and property markets.
11-May-2005

Acambis has acquired a US-based 58,000 sq ft vaccine manufacturing facility in Rockville, MD, from BioReliance Corporation for £4m.
11-May-2005

Venture Production is to acquire a package of oil development assets in the Central North Sea from Amerada Hess for about £8m.
11-May-2005

Belso's UK Cereals, the Peterborough-based breakfast cereal supplier with 30 staff, has been acquired by Bokomo Foods of South Africa.
11-May-2005

Energy Power Resources, the renewable energy company, has been sold by venture capital firm Electra Partners to Australian investment bank Macquarie.
11-May-2005

Andrews Sykes has sold Accommodation Hire, the supplier of temporary accommodation units to the event hire and construction markets, to Wernick Hire for £10m.
10-May-2005

Sirvis IT has sold SiR Learning Systems, the supplier of interactive multimedia products to schools, to a management buy-out for £0.3m.
10-May-2005

Laird Group has acquired Securidor Holdings, the supplier of GRP doors, for an initial £1.5m.
10-May-2005

Chrysalis is to acquire the 106 Century FM radio station in the East Midlands from GCap Media for £29m.
10-May-2005

Kingspan has acquired Advanced Thermal Composites, the Warrington-based manufacturer of composite sandwich panels, for £20m.
10-May-2005

Ferrabyrne, the Littlehampton-based rubber components manufacturer, has undergone a £3m management buy-out backed by Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance.
10-May-2005

Barclays is to acquire a 60% stake in Absa, the South African bank, for £2.9bn, and will integrate the business with its existing operations in other African countries.
10-May-2005

NTL is to sell its Irish cable TV operations to UnitedGlobalCom for £221m, which is expected to help clear the way for a merger with Telewest later this year.
10-May-2005

Somerfield is to acquire 22 forecourt convenience stores from Fuelforce for £1.5m, and will invest £20m in the redevelopment of its total chain of 184 forecourt stores over the next two years.
09-May-2005

T Clarke has acquired Waldon, the St Austell-based electrical contractor with 80 staff, for £1.75m.
09-May-2005

Begbies Traynor has acquired MCF Corporate Finance of Leeds for £3.7m.
09-May-2005

Gamingking has acquired Kelly's Eye, the supplier of lottery tickets and gaming products, for £1.3m.
09-May-2005

Land Securities is to acquire Tops Estates, the property developer, for £517m.
09-May-2005

Ulster Television is planning to acquire The Wireless Group, the owner of the TalkSport radio station, for £98m.
09-May-2005

Four Seasons Health Care has acquired BetterCare, the chain of 29 nursing homes, from 3i for £116m.
09-May-2005

LA Fitness, the fitness club operator, is to undergo a £90m management buy-out backed by MidOcean Partners.
09-May-2005

Warburg Pincus, the private equity firm, has acquired Caradon Plumbing, the central heating group, for £227m.
09-May-2005

Alphameric is to acquire Optical Mark Systems, the supplier of software systems to bookmakers, for £1m.
09-May-2005

GUS has acquired Lowermybills of the US for £174m, in order to expand its Experian consumer credit data business.
09-May-2005

Minimix, the aggregates and ready-mixed concrete company with 67 staff at four sites in South Wales, has been acquired by Lafarge Aggregates for undisclosed terms.
06-May-2005

PrismTech, the Gateshead-based software company with 70 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
06-May-2005

Menzies Hotels is to acquire the Best Western Milton Hotel & Spa in the centre of Glasgow for about £14m.
06-May-2005

BT has acquired SkyNet Systems, the Oxford-based LAN solutions provider with 59 staff and annual turnover of £22m.
05-May-2005

FKI is to sell certain Certex lifting product distribution businesses operating in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Finland and the Baltic States to ABT Allsafe for £16m.
05-May-2005

Firstline, the Bicester-based automotive components distributor with 90 staff, has undergone a secondary management buy-out from Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity.
05-May-2005

Eaga Partnership is to acquire MICO Group, the Rotherham-based energy efficiency specialist, for undisclosed terms.
05-May-2005

Airedale International, the Leeds-based air conditioning company with 450 staff, has been acquired by Modine Manufacturing Company of the US for £20m.
05-May-2005

Lowdham Leisureworld has acquired Colin's Caravans, the Reading-based caravan dealer.
05-May-2005

Tangent Plastics has acquired Impress, the Witham-based injection moulding company, for undisclosed terms.
05-May-2005

Jilland Engineering, the Doncaster-based railway engineering firm with about 100 staff, has undergone a management buy-out after being forced to call in administrators last week.
05-May-2005

RAL Holdings, the chain of 129 high street amusement arcades, is to be acquired by cash shell Talarius in a £39m reverse takeover.
05-May-2005

Mitie has acquired Intruder International, the Bishop's Stortford-based supplier of electronic security systems, for £4m.
05-May-2005

Alliance UniChem has acquired Bairds Chemists, the Northern Ireland-based chain of 50 pharmacies with about 500 staff, for £81m.
05-May-2005

JCT600 has acquired the Layerthorpe VW dealership in York and the Priory Park VW dealership in Hull for £10m.
04-May-2005

Ennstone Thistle has acquired the readymix concrete and contracting business of Aberdeen-based JH Connon for £1.1m, which will involve the transfer of 54 staff.
04-May-2005

Dunn-Line is to acquire MASS Transit Lincoln, the Lincoln-based operator of 29 buses with 33 staff, from MAS Special Engineering for £0.5m.
04-May-2005

Probotec, the Cardiff-based manufacturer of rail wagons with 40 staff, has been bought out of administration by English Welsh & Scottish Railway.
04-May-2005

DH Jones Hardware, the Stourbridge-based architectural ironmongery company with 25 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
04-May-2005

Eclipse Scientific has acquired Devan Laboratories, the Telford-based food testing laboratory, for undisclosed terms.
04-May-2005

Enterprise is to acquire Strategem Group, the public sector consultancy, for up to £12m.
04-May-2005

Gaming Corporation has acquired Newbold, the online gambling company, for £10m.
04-May-2005

Vantis is to acquire Numerica, the accountancy services group, for £16m, while Numerica offices in Bristol, Manchester and Southampton are being acquired by BDO Stoy Hayward for £12m.
04-May-2005

Morrisons has acquired three bakeries in Middlesbrough, Wigan and Lydney from the administrators of Rathbones for £15m, while its Safeway stores on the Channel Islands have been sold to CI Traders for £51m.
03-May-2005

Edinburgh Oil & Gas is to be acquired by North Sea investors Oranje Nassau and Dyas for £133m.
03-May-2005

Matalan is to sell its Lee Cooper jeans brand to a private equity consortium that includes Sun Capital for £30m.
03-May-2005

Judges Capital is to acquire Fire Testing Technology, the manufacturer of fire testing equipment, for £3.7m.
02-May-2005

Gresham has sold its stake in MSS, the Cardiff-based supplier of specialist mattresses and other equipment to hospitals, to Invacare of the US for undisclosed terms.
02-May-2005

London & Edinburgh Inns has bought hotels in Croydon, Bath and Chester from Marston Hotels for £20m, as well as two Corus hotels in Canterbury and Maidstone for £5m.
02-May-2005

Baxi Group has acquired Roca Heating, the Spanish heating equipment manufacturer, for £135m.
02-May-2005

Highbury House is to sell 38 magazine titles to Future for £31m, in order to focus on its computing, video games and photography publications.
02-May-2005

Cox, the motorcycle insurer, is to accept a £298m takeover offer from a management team backed by Englefield Capital and Duke Street Capital.
02-May-2005

GlaxoSmithKline is to acquire Corixa, the US vaccines manufacturer, for £160m.
02-May-2005

Fat Face has been acquired by Advent International for an estimated £100m, and is now planning to open up to 20 clothing stores a year.
02-May-2005

Singer & Friedlander, the London-based merchant bank, is to be acquired by Kaupthing of Iceland for £547m.
02-May-2005

Itouch, the provider of mobile phone services and ringtones, is to be acquired by For-Side.com of Japan for £180m.
02-May-2005

Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts, the chain of 135 hotels, is to be acquired by Lehman Brothers and Starwood Capital in a £1bn deal.
02-May-2005

The Works, the chain of 230 book stores with 1,600 staff, has undergone a £50m management buy-out backed by Hermes Private Equity.
29-Apr-2005

Aegis is to acquire Medyaturk, the Turkish media planning & buying agency, for up to £8m.
29-Apr-2005

Rok Property Solutions has acquired Durose & Gourlay, the provider of maintenance services to local authorities and housing associations in the North West with 150 staff, for £11m.
29-Apr-2005

Pipex Communications has acquired Donhost, the dedicated and shared hosting and domain name company, for £5.9m.
29-Apr-2005

Phoenix Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in Bank Stores, the branded clothing retailer with 30 stores, as part of a £30m deal that will see the store network double in size over the next three years.
29-Apr-2005

WH Trade Binders of Daventry has been bought out of administration by a former management team for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 56 jobs.
29-Apr-2005

ITV has acquired SDN, the digital TV multiplex operator that carries ten Freeview channels, for £134m.
28-Apr-2005

Exel has sold its Cory Environmental waste management business, which transports waste along the Thames and operates eight landfill sites, to Montagu Private Equity for £200m.
28-Apr-2005

Wolverhampton & Dudley has reached agreement to acquire Jennings, the Cumbria-based brewery and chain of 128 pubs, for £46m.
28-Apr-2005

Legal & General Ventures has sold a portfolio of seven companies to Vision Capital for undisclosed terms, including the TM Group of convenience stores, Trident Components and Coal Products.
28-Apr-2005

Saville Tractors has acquired Tana UK, the supplier of waste compactors, for undisclosed terms.
28-Apr-2005

Rock Asphalte, the Hammersmith-based roofing specialist, has been bought out of receivership by Elliott-Thomas, securing the future of more than 50 jobs.
28-Apr-2005

Alexandra has acquired Prima Corporate Wear, the London-based corporate clothing company, for £4m.
27-Apr-2005

Aegis is to acquire Molecular Inc, US internet technology consulting firm, for up to £16m.
27-Apr-2005

FKI has sold Laurence Scott & Electromotors to a new company called Gothic Works for £4m, securing the future of most of the 250 Norwich-based jobs.
27-Apr-2005

Colab, the Coventry-based photographic company with 39 staff, has been bought out of administration by a management team.
27-Apr-2005

Koppers UK has acquired Lambson Speciality Chemicals of Yorkshire for undisclosed terms, which will involve the transfer of Lambson's glycerine and ammonium sulphate production facilities to Teesside.
27-Apr-2005

Superior Creative Services, the Melksham-based marketing and communications company with 118 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
27-Apr-2005

Penton Media Europe, the business-to-business media company, has undergone a management buy-out from its US parent company, in a deal backed by Northern Venture Managers.
27-Apr-2005

Broxap has acquired CEL Products, the Tyneside-based manufacturer of cloak room furniture, for £1m.
26-Apr-2005

PJH, the Bolton-based kitchen and bathroom distributor with 700 staff, has been acquired by Lloyds TSB Development Capital for £33m.
26-Apr-2005

Merebrook has acquired Barkonsult, the Cardiff-based civil and structural engineering consultant with about 20 staff, for undisclosed terms.
26-Apr-2005

Basebuy has been bought out of administration by a management team, securing 300 jobs at 29 discount clothing stores.
26-Apr-2005

Quadnetics is to acquire Alphapoint, the US provider of digital surveillance technology, for up to £1.7m.
25-Apr-2005

Centrica has acquired REDNET, the internet service provider, for £5m, in order to expand its Onetel division.
25-Apr-2005

Eurofins Laboratories has acquired Direct Laboratory Services, the Wolverhampton-based testing and research facility with 100 staff, for undisclosed terms.
25-Apr-2005

Dudley Inkwell has acquired TBS International Office Supplies of Washington, and has transferred the business to its site in Gateshead.
25-Apr-2005

Speedy Hire has acquired The Cabin Company, the owner of 950 portable units for construction sites, from Birse for £6.3m.
25-Apr-2005

Strix, the manufacturer of kettle components with 1,000 staff in Chester, the Isle of Man and China, is to be acquired by ABN Amro Capital for an estimated £300m.
25-Apr-2005

Shire Pharmaceuticals is to acquire Transkaryotic Therapies, the US biotechnology company that produces drugs for genetic disorders, for £839m.
25-Apr-2005

Quintessential Hotels has acquired the Norton Manor hotel near Winchester for about £9m.
25-Apr-2005

Spring Fine Foods has bought Sheriffs of Kingsbridge, the Exeter-based biscuit manufacturer, out of administration for undisclosed terms, but 60 jobs have been lost.
22-Apr-2005

Transform Medical, the cosmetic surgery chain, has been acquired by Electra Partners, as part of the £170m acquisition of parent group Covenant Healthcare.
21-Apr-2005

Able Community Care is to acquire Homecall, the Suffolk-based provider of home care services.
21-Apr-2005

Autonomy is to acquire eTalk, the US-based developer of software for call centres, for up to £49m.
21-Apr-2005

Allied Domecq, the spirits group, has accepted a £7.4bn takeover bid from Pernod Ricard, with some of Allied's brands being acquired by Fortune Brands of the US.
21-Apr-2005

Cinven is to sell its McKechnie aerospace and engineering business and its Dynacast die-cast components business to Melrose for £429m.
21-Apr-2005

WSP has acquired PHB Group, the United Arab Emirates-based firm of consulting engineers, for an initial £0.5m.
20-Apr-2005

Dorset Cereals, the Dorchester-based manufacturer of breakfast cereals, has undergone a management buy-in backed by Langholm Capital.
20-Apr-2005

Fenner is to acquire Wellington Holdings, the polymer seals manufacturer, for £45m.
20-Apr-2005

Monsoon has bought 47 stores from Etam for £43m, taking its total chain of fashion stores to about 300.
20-Apr-2005

Shell has sold its InterGen power generation business to AIG and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in a £1bn deal.
20-Apr-2005

Crane Fruehauf's assets have been bought out of administration by Wordsworth Holdings, and the trailer production lines will be transferred from Norfolk to Grantham.
20-Apr-2005

Chloride has acquired Harath Engineering Services, the supplier of critical power protection services with a nationwide branch network, for £10m.
19-Apr-2005

Astron, the Huntingdon-based business process outsourcing company with 4,000 staff worldwide, has been acquired by RR Donnelley & Sons for £520m.
19-Apr-2005

Flying Brands is to acquire Minds Direct, the CD and DVD home shopping retailer, for £0.6m.
19-Apr-2005

Travelex has acquired the banknotes and travellers cheques business of Brown Shipley for undisclosed terms.
18-Apr-2005

English Architectural Glazing, the Mildenhall-based glazing company with 110 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
18-Apr-2005

Whitbread is planning to sell its chain of 60 Maredo restaurants in Germany to a management buy-out backed by German Equity Partners for up to £20m.
18-Apr-2005

Argos is to acquire 33 Index catalogue stores for £44m, while the remaining 126 Index stores will be closed by Littlewoods with the loss of 3,200 jobs.
18-Apr-2005

International Energy Group, the Channel Islands-based gas supplier, is to be acquired by Prime Infrastructure of Australia for £202m.
18-Apr-2005

United Business Media is to sell its NOP World market research division to GfK of Germany for £383m.
18-Apr-2005

Mill House Inns has acquired Pioneer Pub Company, the chain of 49 pubs, for about £50m.
18-Apr-2005

Merlin Entertainments, the operator of 26 visitor attractions, is expected to be acquired by Blackstone Group of the US for about £100m.
18-Apr-2005

Tecnograv, the Derby-based printing equipment company, has been bought out of administration by Tressanda of Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire.
15-Apr-2005

Mavinwood is to acquire ReStore Group, the document storage and record management company, for an initial £6m.
15-Apr-2005

ACIS (Advanced Communications & Information Systems), the provider of transport information systems with 120 staff, has undergone a £25m management buy-out backed by Inflexion Private Equity.
15-Apr-2005

Homeserve has acquired Chem-Dry UK, the Beverley-based fire and flood disaster restoration company with 120 staff and 230 franchisees, for £19m.
15-Apr-2005

McCowans, the Stenhousemuir-based toffee confectionery company with 84 staff, has been bought out of receivership by a new company called Sally Gardens for undisclosed terms.
15-Apr-2005

Vimac Leisure has acquired the Hush nightclub in Middlesbrough for £3m, and expects to make further acquisitions later this year.
15-Apr-2005

Wood Group has acquired ODL, the energy services company with 135 staff at offices in Aberdeen and Canada, in order to expand its Engineering & Production Facilities division.
14-Apr-2005

United Co-op Travel has acquired Hourds Travel, the Stafford-based chain of six travel agents, which will double the turnover of its business travel division to £60m.
14-Apr-2005

Telcon Packaging, the Kent-based laminated tube manufacturer, has been acquired by Essel Propack of India for undisclosed terms.
14-Apr-2005

Elevation Events is to acquire two corporate hospitality companies, including Event Vision La Dolce Vita for £1.7m and Philip Talbot Productions for £1.9m.
14-Apr-2005

Hogg Robinson is to sell its benefits and consultancy services business to Duke Street Capital for an estimated £120m, in order to focus on corporate travel.
14-Apr-2005

Alpha Airports has acquired the Abela Rocas airline catering business in Romania for £3.4m.
13-Apr-2005

KAE, the London-based strategic marketing consultancy, is to be acquired by Optimisa for £1.9m.
13-Apr-2005

Deritend has acquired East Midlands Industrial Rewinds, the Ashby-de-la-Zouch-based motor repair company.
13-Apr-2005

Paddock Fabrications has acquired Millenco Hardware of Wolverhampton for undisclosed terms, creating a combined architectural hardware business with 375 staff.
12-Apr-2005

Adrian Flux Insurance has acquired Herts Insurance Consultants, the Bishop's Stortford-based provider of insurance for modified cars with 40 staff.
12-Apr-2005

Judge's Choice Petfood of Norfolk has acquired the Happidog brand of vegetarian dog food and the Top Number range for working dogs from Provimi of Thirsk.
12-Apr-2005

Avon Group Manufacturing has acquired P&D Manufacturing, the Corsham-based toolmaker and injection moulder with 25 staff, for undisclosed terms.
12-Apr-2005

Barclays is to acquire a majority stake in Fiat's Iveco vehicle finance and leasing business for £67m.
12-Apr-2005

Laminate Flooring Direct, the Middlesbrough-based chain of 22 flooring stores, has been bought out of administration by LF Direct for undisclosed terms.
11-Apr-2005

Eidos, the computer games company, is to accept a £97m takeover offer from SCi Entertainment.
11-Apr-2005

East Surrey Holdings, the water and gas group that owns Phoenix Natural Gas, has accepted a £453m takeover offer from Terra Firma.
11-Apr-2005

Quarto Group has acquired Premier Books of New Zealand for an initial £2.1m.
11-Apr-2005

Axon is to acquire Feanix Corporation, the US-based IT consultancy, for £12m.
11-Apr-2005

Blueheath has acquired CTM Wholesale, the Wrexham-based grocery wholesaler, for up to £4.9m.
11-Apr-2005

Etam has sold its UK-based chain of 209 fashion stores to the owner of Arcadia for undisclosed terms, and about 50 of the sites are expected to be sold on to other retailers.
11-Apr-2005

Automotive Technik, the armoured vehicle manufacturer, is to be acquired by Stewart & Stevenson Services of the US for £25m.
11-Apr-2005

Amec has acquired Game Nucleaire, the French nuclear engineering company with 620 staff, for £14m.
08-Apr-2005

Waterman Group has acquired Quadrant Consulting, the Cardiff-based consulting engineer specialising in civil and structural engineering projects, for an initial £0.25m.
08-Apr-2005

Renown Engineering, the Cramlington-based welding and precision machining company with 75 staff, has undergone a management buy-in backed by GE Commercial Finance.
08-Apr-2005

Inchcape has acquired Robert Smith Group, the chain of six Mercedes dealerships and one Smart dealership in the North West, for £18m.
08-Apr-2005

Partech Instruments is to merge with EauxSys, creating a combined Cornwall-based water testing equipment group with 24 staff called Partech.
08-Apr-2005

Gaming Corporation has acquired Got2bet.com, the online gambling portal, for £0.1m.
07-Apr-2005

The Funding Corporation has acquired two credit and leasing businesses from Five Arrows Leasing Group for undisclosed terms - County Leasing & Finance of Swansea and Benton Finance of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
07-Apr-2005

Larking Gowen has expanded its accountancy operations in East Anglia by acquiring Martin Wright & Co of Colchester and Unica of Ipswich.
07-Apr-2005

Woodkirk Stone, the Yorkshire-based stone quarrying company with 50 staff, has undergone a management buy-in backed by City Invoice Finance of Leeds.
07-Apr-2005

Quickfall Construction of Grimsby has been acquired by Hanson Support Services, securing the future of 50 jobs.
07-Apr-2005

Bullen, the road, rail, water and environmental company with 500 staff, has been acquired by Aecon Technology, the US-based parent of Faber Maunsell.
07-Apr-2005

Tulloch has acquired Umax Crane & Haulage of Inverness, in order to expand its fleet of mobile cranes.
07-Apr-2005

Verna Group, a Bolton-based healthcare manufacturer, has been acquired by Legal & General Ventures for £60m.
06-Apr-2005

St Ives has sold its Johler Druck commercial print business in Germany to Arques Industries for £1.5m.
06-Apr-2005

Oxford Instruments is to acquire HKL Technology, the Danish manufacturer of Electron BackScatter Diffraction systems, for an initial £2m.
06-Apr-2005

Amplicon Liveline, the Brighton-based electronics and IT company with 40 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
06-Apr-2005

British Vita has acquired the thermoplastic elastomers business of Valerio Franceschetti Elastomeri of Italy for an initial £5.5m.
05-Apr-2005

Headlam Group has acquired the retail division of Gaskell Flooring, which trades as Gaskell Wool Rich and Tomkinson Carpets, for £0.4m.
05-Apr-2005

United Business Media has acquired DotNetJunkies.com and SqlJunkies.com, the independent online communities, in order to expand its CMP Media division's software development media business.
05-Apr-2005

Enterprise has acquired ESBI Engineering, the power distribution and transmission network contractor, for up to £12m.
05-Apr-2005

Kleeneze has acquired Kitbag Sports, the internet sports retailer, for £6m.
05-Apr-2005

YooMedia has acquired ViaVision, the London-based independent TV broadcaster and production company with annual revenue of £1.3m.
05-Apr-2005

DAT Group has acquired Synchronica Software, the German developer of data synchronisation and device management software, for an initial £0.3m.
05-Apr-2005

Ensor Holdings has acquired Wood's Packaging, the Yorkshire-based distributor of packaging materials, for £0.8m.
05-Apr-2005

United Freight Distribution has acquired Ollis Transport, the Bristol-based distribution company with 45 staff.
05-Apr-2005

Heanor Gate Printing has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 70 staff.
05-Apr-2005

Zenith Hygiene has acquired MP Chemical Products, the Northern Ireland-based supplier of cleaning, hygiene and ancillary products, for £0.1m.
04-Apr-2005

Broker Network Holdings is to acquire Wyndale Insurance Brokers of Bury, Lancashire.
04-Apr-2005

BDO Stoy Hayward has sold the Holsworthy Biogas waste-powered power station in Devon out of administration to Summerleaze, securing 13 jobs.
04-Apr-2005

Stage Three Music is to acquire Mosaic Music, the US rock music catalogue, for about £22m.
04-Apr-2005

Sanctuary Group is to acquire Twenty-First Artists, the music management company, for £16m.
04-Apr-2005

Pinewood Shepperton has bought Teddington Studios out of administration for £2.7m, and will use the west London site to expand its TV and sound operations.
04-Apr-2005

Victrex has acquired an oxidation plant at Seal Sands in the north-east from Degussa for £16m, in order to secure the supply of the BDF raw material for the production of its Peek polymer.
04-Apr-2005

Eckoh Technologies is to acquire Anglia Telecom Centres, the mobile distributor and fixed line reseller, from TTG Europe for up to £10m.
04-Apr-2005

Redstone has acquired Xpert, the internet service provider, in a £25m reverse takeover.
04-Apr-2005

Graphite Capital has sold the Ridgmont chain of 29 care homes to Ashbourne Healthcare for £88m.
04-Apr-2005

Ashtenne, the industrial property company, has been acquired by Warner Estate and Anglo Irish Bank for £170m.
04-Apr-2005

Care Principles, the care home provider with 300 beds at secure hospitals across the country, has been acquired by 3i in a £90m deal.
04-Apr-2005

Viridian is to sell Sx3, its software and IT services subsidiary with 1,100 staff, to Northgate Information Solutions for £155m.
01-Apr-2005

The Restaurant Group is to acquire a 40% stake in the Living Ventures chain of 11 restaurants and bars for £7.7m, while Living Ventures will acquire Est Est Est Restaurants from TRG for £16m.
01-Apr-2005

Harlequin Leisure of Glasgow has sold the Ashoka chain of 16 Indian restaurants, which employ more than 350 staff, to Sanjay Mahju for an estimated £8m.
01-Apr-2005

Hepworth Building Products, the Sheffield-based pipe manufacturer with 1,400 staff, has been acquired by Wavin of the Netherlands for undisclosed terms.
01-Apr-2005

Libertas Capital has acquired Riddar Capital for £1.9m, and plans to establish Riddar as a specialist independent investment research company.
31-Mar-2005

Imprint Search & Selection is planning to acquire Morgan McKinley, the London-based financial services recruitment company, for up to £24m.
31-Mar-2005

MTL Instruments has acquired GeCma, the German manufacturer of operator display units for use in hazardous industrial areas, for an initial £6.9m.
31-Mar-2005

Aquilo has acquired HFC Select, the Edinburgh-based supplier of claims validation and supply chain services, for £0.2m.
30-Mar-2005

Reversus is to acquire DTC, the health care services provider that arranges medical examinations and pathology testing, for £3.2m.
30-Mar-2005

Ultra Electronics is to acquire the US-based aerospace cockpit instrumentation business of Horizon Aerospace for £2.4m.
30-Mar-2005

Economy Power, the Cardiff-based electricity supply company with 250 staff, is to be acquired by E.ON UK for about £40m, but sister companies Eco2 and Economy Calls are not included in the deal.
30-Mar-2005

IDT of Gateshead has acquired the message signs business of Basingstoke-based street lighting company Urbis for undisclosed terms.
30-Mar-2005

Linden Homes North West, the Wilmslow-based housebuilder with 65 staff, has been acquired by a newly-formed enterprise called Arley Homes for £17m.
30-Mar-2005

International Risk Consultants of Glasgow has acquired TDF Credit Insurance Services for more than £1m.
30-Mar-2005

Bupa is in negotiations to sell ten hospitals to Legal & General Ventures for £100m.
30-Mar-2005

Johnson Seafarms, the Shetland-based fish farming company that is planning to produce organic cod, has undergone a £21m management buy-out.
30-Mar-2005

BC Partners is to sell Partnerships in Care, the chain of mental hospitals with more than 2,000 staff, to Cinven for about £560m.
30-Mar-2005

Enterprise has acquired JJ McGinley, the provider of contracting services in London and the south-east, for £5.3m.
30-Mar-2005

XKO has sold its managed services operation to 2e2, the IT services group, for £13m, as part of a strategy to focus on software.
30-Mar-2005

Tilney, the Liverpool-based asset management company, is to undergo a management buy-out backed by Bridgepoint for an estimated £125m.
30-Mar-2005

Music Zone, the chain of 54 record stores with 500 staff, is to undergo a management buy-out, and there are plans to expand the network to 100 sites.
29-Mar-2005

Tarantula International, the London-based marketing services company with 27 staff, has been acquired by WPP.
29-Mar-2005

Elementis is to sell its US-based Hardman epoxy and urethane products business to Royal Adhesives & Sealants for £7.8m.
29-Mar-2005

Country & Metropolitan, the housebuilder with 300 staff, has received a £72m recommended takeover bid from Gladedale.
29-Mar-2005

Community Broking Group has acquired Exius, the Manchester-based provider of insurance premium finance, for up to £0.3m.
24-Mar-2005

Homeserve has sold its remaining commercial outsourcing operations, with Middleton Maintenance Services going to management for £1.2m and Onsite South and Onsite Central to South Staffordshire for £4m.
24-Mar-2005

Phoenix IT is to acquire Network Disaster Recovery, the independent provider of disaster recovery and business continuity services with sites in Birmingham, London, Bristol and Uxbridge, for £29m.
24-Mar-2005

Alphameric has acquired Telectronics Systems, the supplier of back office solutions to the hospitality sector with offices in Milton Keynes and Hampshire, for £6.8m.
24-Mar-2005

TD Bingham has acquired Roy Billington Associates for undisclosed terms, creating a combined Liverpool-based structural engineering business with 18 staff.
24-Mar-2005

Nickerson Europe, the Wellingborough-based screw and barrel supplier that was part of Spaceminster, has been bought out of administration and will now be known as Nickerson.
24-Mar-2005

Delcam has acquired Engineering Geometry Systems, the US-based supplier of specialist machining software and associated services, for £1.6m.
23-Mar-2005

Cambridge Biotechnology, the developer of obesity treatments with 29 staff, has been acquired by Biovitrum of Sweden for undisclosed terms.
23-Mar-2005

Mill House Inns, the chain of 60 family pubs, has undergone a £90m management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland Corporate.
23-Mar-2005

MJ Gleeson is planning to sell its building division to a management buy-out.
23-Mar-2005

Close Brothers is to acquire Seydler, the German market maker and broker, for £17m.
23-Mar-2005

British Vita, the chemicals and plastics group, is to be acquired by Texas Pacific Group for £668m.
23-Mar-2005

Hit Entertainment, the children's media rights company, has accepted a £489m takeover offer from private equity group Apax.
22-Mar-2005

House of Fraser has agreed to acquire Jenners, the Edinburgh-based department store with 750 staff, for £46m, and will retain the Jenners name.
22-Mar-2005

Harrington Hall, the London hotel with 200 rooms, is to be acquired by NH Hoteles of Spain for £48m.
22-Mar-2005

Martin Aitken & Co, the Glasgow-based accountancy, is to merge with Wm Lockhart & Co, and 19 Lockhart staff will relocate from its office in West Nile Street.
22-Mar-2005

Optimax has bought the Eyebright eye clinic centre in Hessle, East Yorkshire, out of administration.
22-Mar-2005

Clarkson has acquired Ferrobulk, the Italian shipbroker with 30 staff, for an initial £4.2m.
21-Mar-2005

James Fisher has acquired FenderCare, the Norwich-based supplier of large-scale pneumatic fenders to the shipping industry with 65 staff, for up to £12m.
21-Mar-2005

Hilton has sold 11 hotels to Stardon UK, a newly-formed joint venture between Chardon Hotels and a fund sponsored by Starwood Capital, for £111m.
21-Mar-2005

Enterprise has acquired CCMR and its management consultancy subsidiary DBI Consulting for up to £12m.
18-Mar-2005

Kinnerton, the manufacturer of novelty confectionery with sites in London and Fakenham, is to be acquired by Zetar for up to £32m.
18-Mar-2005

Ainscough Engineering Services has acquired Vanguard Industrial out of administration for undisclosed terms.
17-Mar-2005

Aggregate Industries has acquired a 75% stake in Bespoke Precast, the Sheffield-based concrete staircase manufacturer, for undisclosed terms.
17-Mar-2005

Cordell Group has bought IPM Industries, the Teesside-based engineering and pump maintenance company with 30 staff, out of administration.
17-Mar-2005

Hardy & Greys has acquired Chub, the Essex-based supplier of carp fishing equipment, for more than £1m.
16-Mar-2005

Smiths Group has acquired US Seals, the US-based manufacturer of mechanical pump seals, for £6m.
16-Mar-2005

Gyrus Group has acquired Urology Solutions, the distributor of medical products in Australia and New Zealand, for up to £1.2m.
16-Mar-2005

Swiftwood, the Wisbech-based timber importer and manufacturer with 46 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
16-Mar-2005

Glen Dimplex has acquired Lec Refrigeration, the Bognor-based fridge and freezer manufacturer with 300 staff, from Sime Darby for undisclosed terms.
16-Mar-2005

Thomas Smith & Co, the Peterhead-based textiles manufacturer with 56 staff, has been bought out of receivership by a new firm called Smiths of Peterhead.
16-Mar-2005

Century Homes, the Irish-owned manufacturer of timber frame houses, has been acquired by Kingspan Group for £68m.
15-Mar-2005

Cambridge Silicon Radio has acquired Clarity Technologies, the US-based developer of software for voice-based communications systems, for £9m.
15-Mar-2005

Business Direct Group has acquired the customers and goodwill of the in-boot logistics division of Esprit In-Night Express from ANC for at least £0.2m.
15-Mar-2005

Carr Foods, the Manchester-based cake importer with 14 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
15-Mar-2005

Mayborn Group has acquired Tube Plastics, the Stourport-on-Severn-based supplier of children's outdoor play equipment, for an initial £10m.
14-Mar-2005

Audus Noble has acquired Dines Plastics, the Basildon-based plastic packaging company with 46 staff, in a multi-million pound deal.
14-Mar-2005

Furniss Foods has acquired the traditional gift section of Exeter-based biscuit and confectionery firm Sheriffs for undisclosed terms.
14-Mar-2005

Kingston Communications has acquired Technica, the storage consultancy with 30 staff in Warwick and Reading, for up to £6.5m.
14-Mar-2005

Euromoney Institutional Investor has acquired CEIC Holdings, the Hong Kong-based provider of economic data, for up to £18m.
14-Mar-2005

Chesterton has sold 16 London-based residential estate agencies out of receivership to CIC International for about £1m.
14-Mar-2005

Greene King has sold 34 pubs to Admiral Taverns for £15m, in order to comply with regulatory requirements for its recent acquisitions from Laurel.
14-Mar-2005

Curious Software, the supplier of broadcasting graphics software with 13 staff, is to be acquired by Vizrt for £4.7m.
14-Mar-2005

BT Group is to acquire Radianz, the US network services provider, from Reuters for £91m.
14-Mar-2005

InterContinental Hotels has sold its 73 UK-based hotels, including 68 Holiday Inns, to a consortium of Lehman Brothers, GIC Real Estate and Realstar Asset Management for £1bn.
14-Mar-2005

Chesterton is to sell five commercial property offices in London, Newcastle, Cardiff, Southampton and Leeds out of receivership to Atisreal, securing the future of 115 staff.
14-Mar-2005

Centurian Hose & Couplings of Preston has acquired Glasgow-based Nethermayne and Spiraflex, in a deal backed by Cattles Invoice Finance.
11-Mar-2005

Rutland Trust has acquired Bupa Healthcare Professionals, the healthcare staffing company with 25 branches, from Bupa for £9m, and will rename the business to Advantage Healthcare Group.
11-Mar-2005

TT Electronics has acquired Dage Backplane Systems, the electronic manufacturing services company with facilities in Aylesbury and China, for £8m.
11-Mar-2005

Matrix Communications has acquired HarrierZeuros, HarrierZeuros Storage Solutions and IKAN, which provide a range of networking, security and storage solutions, from Harrier Group for £4.5m.
11-Mar-2005

Computer Software Group is to acquire Consensus Information Technology, the Cheshire-based developer of membership management software, for £1.6m.
11-Mar-2005

Britannic Group is to acquire Century Group for £44m, in order to expand its Britannic Unit Linked Assurance division.
11-Mar-2005

National Britannia, the Caerphilly-based health and safety group with 550 staff, has undergone a £25m management buy-out backed by West Private Equity.
11-Mar-2005

Carillion is to acquire Planned Maintenance Group, the provider of mechanical and engineering maintenance services with 1,200 staff at its offices and a further 1,100 mobile technicians operating from 15 service centres, for £40m.
10-Mar-2005

Aegis has acquired Aztec Information Systems, the Australian market research company, for up to £33m.
10-Mar-2005

De La Rue has sold Sequoia Voting Systems, its US-based election systems business with about 100 staff, to Smartmatic Corporation for £7.3m.
10-Mar-2005

Aukett, the provider of design services to the property and construction sectors, is planning to merge with London-based architect Fitzroy Robinson in a reverse takeover.
10-Mar-2005

Aerogistics has acquired King & Fowler, the Merseyside-based metal coatings company with 45 staff, from Bodycote for undisclosed terms.
10-Mar-2005

Complete Office Solutions has acquired Printout Supplies of Wakefield for undisclosed terms, creating the largest privately-owned stationery group in the North of England.
10-Mar-2005

Highbury House Communications has sold Highbury Local Publications, the publisher of local magazines in London and Essex, to Archant for £6.1m.
09-Mar-2005

Bcwgroup is to acquire credit management firm Apex for about £5m, and plans to create about 100 new jobs at the Apex base in Stratford-upon-Avon.
09-Mar-2005

United Utilities has acquired Marlborough Stirling, the financial software company, for £95m, in order to expand its Vertex Data Science division.
09-Mar-2005

Aviva is to acquire RAC, the motoring services group that offers roadside recovery, driving schools and insurance services, for £1.1bn, which will result in the loss of 1,700 jobs and the transfer of back-office functions abroad.
09-Mar-2005

Geest, the manufacturer of convenience foods, is to be acquired by Bakkavor of Iceland for £485m.
09-Mar-2005

Amec has acquired Environmental Advice Centre, the ecological surveys company with 25 staff in Mold, Flintshire and Richmond, Yorkshire, for £1.4m.
08-Mar-2005

Hanson has acquired Thermalite, the manufacturer of aerated concrete blocks with 390 staff at production sites in Newbury, West Thurrock and Sutton Coldfield, for £120m.
08-Mar-2005

Taylor Nelson Sofres has acquired Interscience Informacao, the Brazilian market research company, for undisclosed terms.
08-Mar-2005

Multi Group is to acquire Berry Recruitment Holdings, the staffing and recruitment company with 50 staff at ten offices, for £0.5m.
08-Mar-2005

Express Electrical Distributors, the Wigan-based electrical wholesaler with 120 staff at 15 depots, has undergone a £2.3m management buy-out.
08-Mar-2005

Unwins, the off-licence chain with 388 stores, has been acquired by DM Private Equity for about £32m, and DM plans to sell the wholesale business and close 10% of the stores.
08-Mar-2005

BAe Systems is to acquire United Defense Industries, the US combat vehicle manufacturer, for £2.1bn.
08-Mar-2005

Kayfoam, the Paisley-based foam manufacturer with 56 staff, has undergone a £1.2m management buy-out from Kay-Metzler.
07-Mar-2005

Smith Melzack Pepper Angliss, the London-based property services firm with 32 staff, has been acquired by Mercury Group for up to £2m.
07-Mar-2005

Lloyd Maunder is to acquire the Dewhurst chain of 109 butcher shops, which will involve the transfer of 500 staff.
07-Mar-2005

Biocompatibles has acquired CellMed, the German medical technology group with 15 staff, for an initial £2m.
07-Mar-2005

Incepta is to undergo a £200m merger with Huntsworth, creating a combined public relations business with 3,000 staff in 125 countries.
07-Mar-2005

DTZ has acquired Hodnett Martin Smith, the London-based property advisory firm with 36 staff, for an initial £4.3m.
04-Mar-2005

Zenith Hygiene has acquired Quantum Hygiene, the Orpington-based supplier of cleaning, hygiene and ancillary products, for £1.8m.
04-Mar-2005

GK Group has acquired County Garage, the operator of CG Ford dealerships in Carlisle, Penrith and Workington with more than 200 staff.
04-Mar-2005

Aegis Group has acquired Columbus Quanti, the Belgian market research company with 40 staff, for an initial £3.8m.
03-Mar-2005

Intelek has sold Pascall Electronics, the manufacturer of power supplies and radio frequency components, to Xcel Corporation for £4.7m.
03-Mar-2005

Enterprise Inns is to sell 31 freehold and ten leasehold pubs to Admiral Taverns for £10m.
03-Mar-2005

NEMC has acquired Parkdale Press, the Gateshead-based printing company, for about £0.5m.
03-Mar-2005

Rotork has acquired PC Intertechnik, the German fluid systems company, for £6.7m.
03-Mar-2005

Jiskoot Autocontrol, the Kent-based supplier of measurement solutions, has undergone a management buy-out.
02-Mar-2005

European Motor Holdings has acquired Michael Powles, the owner of Bentley car dealerships in Leicester and Norwich, for £5.2m.
02-Mar-2005

TTG Europe is planning to sell Anglia Telecom, the mobile distributor and fixed line reseller, for £10m by the end of March.
02-Mar-2005

Computer Software Group has acquired Prolog Systems, the Surrey-based provider of service management and mobile data solutions, for £0.8m.
02-Mar-2005

White Young Green has acquired Robert Long Consultancy, the environmental consultancy with 38 staff in Lyndhurst, St Ives and Huddersfield, and WynThomasGordonLewis, the Cardiff-based town planning consultancy with 40 staff.
02-Mar-2005

Cytomyx Holdings is to sell Cytocell Technologies, the developer of DNA diagnostic products, to a management-led consortium for an initial £0.6m.
02-Mar-2005

Oxford Instruments has sold its medical operations to US-based Viasys Healthcare for £24m.
02-Mar-2005

Newell & Budge has acquired Momentum Technologies, the Indian software company with more than 120 staff, for about £2.5m.
02-Mar-2005

Speedy Hire has acquired the lifting and tool equipment rental business of Lloyds British Testing, including six depots, for up to £3.1m.
01-Mar-2005

Motaquote Insurance, the Rhondda Valley-based insurance broker with 16 branches and 120 staff, has undergone a management buy-in for about £5m, and will be renamed ProtectaGroup.
01-Mar-2005

Acoustiguide Corporation, the supplier of audio guides to museums, has been acquired by Espro of Israel for £1.9m.
01-Mar-2005

Bank of Ireland has sold its Chase de Vere independent financial advice business to AWD of Germany for £21m.
01-Mar-2005

Tech Assemblies has been bought out of administration by a new company called Cu Tech, securing the future of 43 jobs at its automotive components business in Port Talbot.
28-Feb-2005

Hodgson & Hodgson has acquired Salex Acoustic Materials, the Braintree-based supplier of acoustic components with 50 staff, from Wellman Engineering for undisclosed terms.
28-Feb-2005

Pimpernel International, the Consett-based tablemat manufacturer with 187 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
28-Feb-2005

Caledonian Petroleum Services, the oil industry fabrication group with 50 staff, has been acquired by Sovereign Oilfield Services for undisclosed terms.
28-Feb-2005

Thompson Plastics Group has bought Polymer Engineering, the Crewe-based manufacturer of vehicle mouldings with 50 staff, out of administration for undisclosed terms.
28-Feb-2005

Travelex, the foreign exchange group with 670 branches worldwide, is to be sold to Apax Partners for £690m.
28-Feb-2005

Wembley is planning to sell its six greyhound racing tracks to Risk Capital Partners for £50m.
28-Feb-2005

Goadsby & Harding has acquired Palmer Fry, the Southampton-based property agent, for undisclosed terms, creating a combined group with 55 staff.
28-Feb-2005

Bartercard, the trade exchange, has been acquired by Universal Direct for £65m.
28-Feb-2005

Malcolm Group, the Scottish road transport group, is to undergo a management buy-out for £70m.
28-Feb-2005

Morris Packers & Warehousing Services, the Swansea-based contract packing company with 12 staff, has undergone a management buy-in.
25-Feb-2005

Baltic Pine, the timber conservatory manufacturer, has been acquired by West Country Investments, and more than 150 new jobs will be created by setting up a telesales call centre in west Cornwall.
25-Feb-2005

Tenon has acquired Convyclark, the Kirkcaldy-based accounting firm, for undisclosed terms.
25-Feb-2005

Bristol Water has sold its Bath-based Walter Lawrence civil engineering business to Daniel Contractors of Warrington for an initial £0.5m.
24-Feb-2005

Bamford Roofing, the Liverpool-based roofing contractor, has been sold by Kelpie Properties to Apex of Birmingham for undisclosed terms.
24-Feb-2005

Ernst & Young has sold the eight remaining Cox Plant hire depots out of administration to its former directors.
24-Feb-2005

Ilford Imaging, the Cheshire-based supplier of photographic materials, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 380 jobs.
23-Feb-2005

PP Payne of Nottinghamshire is to merge with Banbury-based Morane and Mold-based Laminex to create a combined packaging group called Payne with 390 staff.
23-Feb-2005

Parkside International, the Barnsley-based packaging group, has sold two businesses out of administration, with Alcan buying the Polish plant and Parkside Flexibles going to a new company called Parkside Flexibles (Normanton).
23-Feb-2005

Quintessential Hotels has acquired Midmint, the owner of the Hanover International Hotel in Warrington, for £23m, and plans to make further acquisitions this year.
23-Feb-2005

Huntsworth is to acquire Sinclair Mason, the Leeds-based public relations company, for an initial £1.1m.
23-Feb-2005

Micap has acquired Rendel & Scherer, the German developer of microencapsulation solutions, for up to £0.7m.
23-Feb-2005

Planned Packaging has sold its UK flexible packaging operations to a newly-created company called Planned Packaging Films.
23-Feb-2005

Pete & Johnny, the Nottinghamshire-based supplier of PJ Smoothie soft drinks with 80 staff, has been acquired by PepsiCo UK for an estimated £20m.
22-Feb-2005

Alliance UniChem has acquired Farmaceutica Central, the Spanish pharmaceuticals wholesaler, for £33m.
22-Feb-2005

Empresaria has acquired a majority stake in The Recruitment Business, which includes 11 staff in London, for up to £2m.
21-Feb-2005

Amec has acquired FAST Maintenance Informatique, the French IT management company with 480 staff.
21-Feb-2005

Nutrinnovator is planning to acquire Provexis, the developer of functional foods, and the enlarged group will look to raise up to £10m of funds.
21-Feb-2005

Ennstone is planning to sell its Johnston Engineering operations to Bucher Industries and a North American management team for a total £26m.
21-Feb-2005

Hardys & Hansons is to acquire five pubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire from Shadeweir Inns for £11m.
21-Feb-2005

Enteraction TV has acquired Red Fig, the interactive TV specialist, and Red Fig's 25 London-based staff will relocate to Enteraction's site in Vauxhall.
21-Feb-2005

Telegenic, the outside broadcast company, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
21-Feb-2005

Top Ten Holdings is to acquire Judges Hall Bingo Club of Tonypandy from Planned Amusements for £0.8m.
18-Feb-2005

Kigass Electronics, the West Midlands-based manufacturer of spark ignition electrodes, is to be acquired by Buckland Group for £1m.
18-Feb-2005

Consafe, the manufacturer of industrial buildings with 160 staff in Aberdeen and Edzell, has been bought out of receivership by McNulty Offshore Contractors of South Shields.
18-Feb-2005

Cadillac Plastic, the Swindon-based plastics company with 24 staff, has undergone a management buy-out from GE Advanced Materials Speciality Film & Sheet for undisclosed terms.
18-Feb-2005

Phoenix Equity Partners has acquired Westar Holidays, the Exeter-based operator of holiday parks in Looe, Mullion and Sandford, for an estimated £30m.
18-Feb-2005

Geest is to acquire the trade and moveable assets of the prepared leafy salads manufacturing operations of G's Marketing, in a deal worth £2.2m.
17-Feb-2005

Merrydown, the cider maker, is to be acquired by SHS Group of Northern Ireland for £37m.
17-Feb-2005

Wraith Accommodation, the supplier of portable accommodation units, is to be acquired by Seashell for £9m.
17-Feb-2005

Smiths Group is to acquire Farran Technology, the Irish developer of detection systems, for £13m.
17-Feb-2005

M&P Metalcraft, the Teesside-based metal fabrications company with 11 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
17-Feb-2005

Fruehauf Parts & Service has been bought out of administration by a management team, securing the future of 268 jobs and 17 branches across the country.
17-Feb-2005

Tulloch has acquired Fibreglo Insulations, the Glasgow-based supplier of cavity wall and loft insulation with 20 staff, for an estimated £1m.
17-Feb-2005

Morgan Crucible is to acquire a 70% stake in Hubei Kailong Chemical, the Chinese ceramic fibres company, for £2m.
16-Feb-2005

Infast is to sell Infast Philidas, the Pontefract-based manufacturer of metal fasteners, for up to £0.7m.
16-Feb-2005

Begbies Traynor has acquired A Segal & Co, the Essex-based insolvency practice, for £0.5m, and most of Segal's staff will relocate to Begbies Traynor's London office.
16-Feb-2005

SectorGuard is planning to acquire SectorAlarm, the electronic security systems installation and maintenance company, for up to £1.2m.
16-Feb-2005

Sage is to acquire Symfonia, the Polish supplier of business management software, for £10m.
16-Feb-2005

Paul Holdings has undergone a £5.3m management buy-out, and is planning to relocate its Paul Fabrications business and up to 125 staff from Draycott to a purpose-built site this year.
16-Feb-2005

Telephone Maintenance Group is to acquire Clansey Communications, the Staffordshire-based supplier of telephone maintenance and support services, for £0.4m.
15-Feb-2005

Northgate Information Solutions has acquired MVM, the software development company with 190 staff at nine offices, from Anglian Water Group for £13m.
15-Feb-2005

Prestbury has acquired Blue Pearl, the mortgage and general insurance network with 50 appointed representative firms authorising 93 individual advisers, for £0.3m plus shares.
15-Feb-2005

Avon Group Manufacturing has acquired Precision Cut Rubber of Corsham, Wiltshire, out of administration, as well as its sister company in the Czech Republic.
15-Feb-2005

Charles Stanley is set to acquire Rowan Dartington, the Bristol-based stockbroker with six offices, for an estimated £8m.
15-Feb-2005

ITV has sold its Superhire props hire business to Space Holdings for £8.2m.
14-Feb-2005

GrantRail Group has acquired Total Power Solutions, the York-based railway engineering company with 50 staff, for undisclosed terms.
14-Feb-2005

Ponden Mill, the home furnishings retailer with 132 stores, has been acquired by Marston Mills for undisclosed terms.
14-Feb-2005

Care UK has acquired Fostering Support Group, the provider of fostering services to local authorities in Kent and London, for up to £3.6m.
14-Feb-2005

Tikit Group has acquired ResSoft, the supplier of time and billing software with offices in London and Hampshire, for £2m.
14-Feb-2005

WCWB (Walker, Crips, Weddle, Beck) is to acquire G&E Investment Services, the York-based provider of investment advice, for an initial £1.2m.
14-Feb-2005

Mid Kent Water is to be sold by WestLB to Hastings Fund Management, which is controlled by Westpac, for about £230m.
14-Feb-2005

Arriva is to acquire Sippel Group, the German bus operator, for £15m.
14-Feb-2005

Technetix, the telecoms components supplier, is to merge with Tratec of the Netherlands and expects to float on Aim later this year.
14-Feb-2005

Smile Stores has acquired Nugent Westward, the chain of 25 convenience stores in the south west, taking its total network to 110.
14-Feb-2005

Wolseley has spent a further £33m on acquisitions, including a French roofing materials company, an Italian plumbing and heating company and two US-based suppliers of plumbing products.
14-Feb-2005

New Horizons, the Shropshire-based childcare company, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Dunedin Capital Partners.
11-Feb-2005

Biddles, the Norfolk-based book printing company, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
11-Feb-2005

The De Vere Belfry golf course, hotel and leisure complex near Birmingham has been acquired by the Quinn Group of Ireland for £186m.
11-Feb-2005

NAP Partnership has merged with Hyams and Brownlee of Teesside to create a combined quantity surveying and cost management firm with 130 staff.
11-Feb-2005

Creative Education Corporation is to acquire Headstart, the operator of nurseries in Peterborough, Northampton, Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes, for £1.5m.
10-Feb-2005

Speedy Hire has acquired DAD Hire Services, the Cheshire-based tool hire company, for £0.3m, while its Toilet Hire UK business has been sold to a management buy-in for £1.1m.
10-Feb-2005

P&MM has acquired AYM Services, the performance improvement agency that provides motivation and incentive programmes, for £0.7m.
10-Feb-2005

Voller Energy has acquired KAT-Chem, the German developer of hydrogen reformer technology, for up to £0.3m.
10-Feb-2005

Creston is to acquire DLKW, the London-based advertising agency with 157 staff, for up to £38m, partly funded by a £10m share placing.
10-Feb-2005

Highbury House Communications is planning to sell its BCom business publishing operations to Ergo Science Corporation for £10m.
10-Feb-2005

IMI is to acquire Syron Engineering & Manufacturing, the US provider of press tooling solutions, for £18m.
10-Feb-2005

Capita Symonds has acquired Buchanan Consulting Engineers, the development and transport consultancy with 55 staff in London and Newbury.
09-Feb-2005

Anite Group is to sell Datavance, its French IT consultancy division, to a management buy-out for £13m.
09-Feb-2005

Brandon Hire has acquired the tool hire operations of Harborough Hire Centre in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire for £1m.
09-Feb-2005

ChandlerKBS has acquired Corderoy, the Edinburgh-based project management consultant, for undisclosed terms.
09-Feb-2005

Osma Underfloor Heating of Exeter has been acquired by Wavin Group of the Netherlands for undisclosed terms.
09-Feb-2005

Unilever has sold its Crisp 'n Dry and Cookeen cooking fat businesses to Princes Manufacturing for undisclosed terms.
09-Feb-2005

Hiscox is to acquire Insurex Expo-Sure, the Tunbridge Wells-based event insurance company, from Alexander Forbes for £2.4m.
08-Feb-2005

Cobham has acquired WA Systems of Exeter from Emblem International for an initial £1m, in order to expand its Chelton Defence Communications business.
08-Feb-2005

United Business Media is to acquire the licensed trade sector publishing and events operations of Quantum Business Media for £21m.
08-Feb-2005

Careforce has acquired Springhill Home Care, which has branches in Accrington, Barnsley and Wakefield and employs 160 carers, for up to £1.8m.
08-Feb-2005

Enterprise has acquired Heating & Building Maintenance, the provider of mechanical and electrical services in the North West, for up to £0.3m.
08-Feb-2005

De Montfort Insurance Company, the surety specialist with 80 staff in Leicester and 20 in London, has been acquired by HCC Insurance Holdings of the US.
08-Feb-2005

Pubs n Bars is to acquire three London-based pubs from Shannon Inns for £3.7m.
07-Feb-2005

East Coast Group has acquired Bebecar, the London-based supplier of nursery products with 20 staff, for undisclosed terms.
07-Feb-2005

Aquilo has acquired ABS Bodyshop Services, the Cheshire-based network of accident repair bodyshops with 240 repairers and 60 head office staff, for £1.7m.
07-Feb-2005

Phase Eight, the chain of 46 fashion stores and 44 concessions, has undergone a £27m management buy-out and is now planning a major expansion programme.
07-Feb-2005

CODASciSys is to acquire Coda France, the French software and IT services distributor, for £3.2m.
07-Feb-2005

Enodis has sold its Vent Master ventilation equipment business to Halton Group of Finland for £3.2m.
07-Feb-2005

Group 4 Securicor is to sell Scotland-based Group 4 Falck Cash Services UK and its Luxembourg-based operation to Brink's for £20m.
04-Feb-2005

LFPV, the Warwick-based supplier of special vehicles, has been sold by Extend Reach Corporation of Denmark to Conrico International.
04-Feb-2005

Viridor Waste Management has acquired Mac Glass Recycling, the glass processing company with 25 staff, and Viridor will now relocate its existing unit at Wishaw in North Lanarkshire to Mac's site in Midlothian.
04-Feb-2005

Expro International has acquired Read Matre Instruments, the Norwegian supplier of subsea sensor and monitoring technologies, for £7m.
04-Feb-2005

Dutton Forshaw has acquired two VW car dealerships in Lancashire from Fairways, as well as a Chrysler Jeep site in Canterbury from Motorway Sportscars and two northern Citroen car dealerships from Squiregate Motors.
04-Feb-2005

RWS Holdings has acquired Eclipse Translations, the Northumberland-based provider of translation services, for £2.3m.
03-Feb-2005

Jelf Group has acquired Arnold Wills, the Somerset-based independent financial advisor, for undisclosed terms.
03-Feb-2005

Vickers Pressings of Newcastle is to merge with Tolwood of Newton Aycliffe to create a combined automotive parts manufacturer called Vickers Pressings Tolwood Automotive, and the combined workforce is expected to grow from 370 to 500.
03-Feb-2005

Technology Services Group has acquired Logical Solutions, the Leeds-based IT hardware and software company with 15 staff, for undisclosed terms.
03-Feb-2005

Albanet has acquired IRW Solutions, the Paisley-based IT consultancy with 29 staff, for about £1m.
03-Feb-2005

Glanbia is to acquire the CMP liquid milk and cream processing business of Dairygold Co-operative Society for £6.9m.
03-Feb-2005

GKN has acquired the remaining 51% of Velcon, the Mexican manufacturer of automotive parts with 640 staff, from joint venture partner Desc for £44m.
03-Feb-2005

Alliance UniChem has acquired 80% of Alloga, the healthcare wholesaling and logistics company, from Galencia of Switzerland, as part of a strategy to expand its network across Europe.
03-Feb-2005

Rubicon, the owner of the Principles and Warehouse fashion chains, has been acquired by Shoe Studio Group in a £140m deal backed by Baugur.
03-Feb-2005

York Pharma has acquired Molecular SkinCare, the Sheffield-based developer of dermatology products, in a £5.5m deal.
02-Feb-2005

Eicom has acquired Arts & Entertainment Programming, the owner of the Performance Channel, from DMG Television for £0.4m.
02-Feb-2005

Parkwood has acquired Ecological Sciences, the organic waste recycling specialist, for £0.7m, in order to expand its public sector outsourcing operations.
02-Feb-2005

CCS Enforcement Services, the Bromsgrove-based debt enforcement company that employs 110 bailiffs and about 100 support staff, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Barclays Ventures.
02-Feb-2005

Marstair has acquired the Quartz water fans manufacturing business from Vent Axia Group for undisclosed terms.
02-Feb-2005

Wallace Arnold has agreed terms for a merger with Shearings to create WA Shearings, a £200m coach travel group with 3,400 staff, and both head offices in Leeds and Wigan will be retained.
01-Feb-2005

Teather & Greenwood, the stockbroker, is to be acquired by Landsbanki of Iceland for £43m.
02-Feb-2005

Durlacher is planning to merge with the Panmure Gordon stockbroking division of Lazard, and the combined 160-strong workforce will be based at Durlacher's Moorgate office.
02-Feb-2005

Severfield-Rowen is planning to acquire Atlas Ward, the North Yorkshire-based structural steelwork company, for £1.2m, and is expected to invest a further £3m in the business.
02-Feb-2005

Homeserve has sold Doorman Services, the supplier of manual and automatic doors, to Assa Abloy of Sweden for £6.6m.
02-Feb-2005

Lookers has acquired Bristol Trade Centre, the four-acre used car supermarket in Bristol, for £8.5m.
01-Feb-2005

EiRx Therapeutics has acquired a 56% stake in Auvation, the Aberdeen-based drug discovery company, for £1.5m.
01-Feb-2005

Stirling Square Capital has acquired two aerospace components suppliers - Permaswage of France and Designed Metal Connections of the US - for a total £79m.
01-Feb-2005

Timestrip, the developer of a label that shows when a product has reached its expiry date, is to undergo a £6.4m reverse takeover by Aim-traded cash shell Internet Music & Media.
01-Feb-2005

First Technology has sold RDI, its French component distribution business, to Axess Technology for about £3m.
31-Jan-2005

Stream Group has acquired MChex, the provider of mobile data and SMS services, from Morse for £1.5m.
31-Jan-2005

Tomkins has acquired Milcor, the US-based air systems company with 350 staff, from Gibraltar Industries for undisclosed terms.
31-Jan-2005

Cambridge Glasshouse Company, the supplier of glasshouses with 30 staff, has undergone a £1.8m management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland Corporate.
31-Jan-2005

United Polymers, the manufacturer of rubber and plastic products with 140 staff, has been bought out of administration by Aberdare-based UK-Euro Group and has been renamed Crosslink.
31-Jan-2005

BAe Systems has reached agreement on a £648m deal to sell most of its avionics business to Finmeccanica of Italy.
31-Jan-2005

CBRE is to acquire Nelson Bakewell, the 330-strong chain of property agents, for about £22m.
31-Jan-2005

Interregnum has acquired Audio Visual Machines, the audio visual solutions provider, for £0.5m.
28-Jan-2005

Advanced Childcare, the provider of fostering services and care homes, has undergone a £14m management buy-in and now plans to expand into the Midlands and the north-east.
28-Jan-2005

Bentleys Industrial Services of Hull is to sell its workwear rental division to Johnson's Apparelmaster, its linen rental business to Leeds-based Brooks and its NHS laundry business to Hampshire-based Sunlight Service.
28-Jan-2005

GRP Laminates, the Cowes-based boatbuilder with about 30 staff, has been bought out of administration by Oxford-based Seighford Investments.
27-Jan-2005

Inter Link Foods has acquired Yorkshire Cottage Bakeries, the cake manufacturer with 290 staff in Bradford and Manchester, for £12m.
27-Jan-2005

International Greetings is to acquire Napier Industries, the supplier of own-label gift products, for £4.8m.
27-Jan-2005

Aegis Group has acquired De-construct, the London-based digital creative agency, for an initial £1.2m.
26-Jan-2005

Dinkie Heel has acquired Friedman's, the Manchester-based distributor of lycra-based materials with annual turnover of £2.6m.
26-Jan-2005

Future Network has acquired A&S Publishing, the motoring magazines and events company, for £6m.
26-Jan-2005

Corus Hotels has sold its Elmville joint venture, which includes five hotels in London, Derby, Exeter and Keswick, to a new vehicle called Leverguide for about £50m.
25-Jan-2005

Computacenter is to sell its Austrian IT infrastructure services business, which includes 220 staff, to S&T System Integration & Technology Distribution.
25-Jan-2005

Jordan Grand Prix, the Formula One motor racing team, is to be acquired by Midland Group for undisclosed terms.
25-Jan-2005

Ashworth's Foods, the Preston-based pie manufacturer with 75 staff, has been bought out of administration by a local consortium called Unipex.
25-Jan-2005

Nichols is to acquire the Panda soft drink brand from Dorset-based brewer Hall & Woodhouse for £5.5m.
24-Jan-2005

Amec is to acquire Paragon Engineering Services, the US-based oil and gas engineering services company, with the £20m purchase price coming from a £90m share placing.
24-Jan-2005

Barclays Bank is planning to acquire the French wealth business of ING Securities Bank, including ING Ferri and ING Private Banking, creating a combined group with more than 50 branches.
21-Jan-2005

Torex Retail has acquired Flexiline Forecourt Services, the Hertfordshire-based supplier of equipment to petrol filling stations, for £2.1m.
21-Jan-2005

Techtran Group, the University of Leeds� research commercialisation partner, has been acquired by IP2IPO in a deal that values Techtran at £20m.
21-Jan-2005

Standard Wool, the Bradford-based wool merchant and processor, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
21-Jan-2005

John Grose Group has acquired the car sales operation of AG Potter in Framlingham, Suffolk.
21-Jan-2005

Kingsland Wines & Spirits, the Manchester-based drinks firm with annual turnover of £120m, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Tenon Corporate Finance.
21-Jan-2005

Richard Lawson Autologistics, the Dundee-based vehicle distribution firm with 650 staff at 23 sites nationwide, has been bought out of administration by a management team.
21-Jan-2005

Carter & Carter is planning to acquire the AA's technical services operation for undisclosed terms, including 100 staff and a motor industry training facility in Leicestershire.
20-Jan-2005

The Savoy hotel in London has been acquired by a consortium led by Fairmont of Canada for more than £200m.
20-Jan-2005

Vimac Leisure has acquired Trenchers, the Whitby-based fish restaurant with 90 staff, for undisclosed terms.
20-Jan-2005

Beal Group has acquired Bradford-based companies Bradford Cover & Tent and Garden Marquees, in order to expand its Dundee-based JT Inglis textile processing business.
20-Jan-2005

Scottish & Southern Energy has acquired Business Power & Systems, the electrical contracting operation with 200 staff in Bury St Edmunds, Colchester, Peterborough and Bridgend, from Alfred McAlpine Utility Services for £3m.
19-Jan-2005

Metalrax has acquired Cooper Coated Coil, the West Bromwich-based metal coatings company, for an initial £3.8m.
19-Jan-2005

Christie Group has acquired West London Estates, the Reading-based firm of chartered building surveyors with net assets of £0.3m, in order to expand its Pinders subsidiary.
19-Jan-2005

James Fisher has acquired Harsh Environment Systems, the Cumbria-based supplier of monitoring solutions to the nuclear decommissioning industry, for £1.6m.
19-Jan-2005

United Business Media is to acquire a number of medical trade press and other professional healthcare business information services in France from MediMedia for £25m.
19-Jan-2005

Bestway has agreed to acquire Batleys, the Leeds-based chain of 18 cash and carry depots with 2,500 staff, for undisclosed terms.
19-Jan-2005

Tragus Holdings, the chain of 157 Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia restaurants, has been acquired by Legal & General Ventures for about £92m, and plans to open at least 12 new sites a year.
19-Jan-2005

Gaucho Grill, the chain of Argentine restaurants, has undergone a £23m management buy-out backed by Barclays Private Equity, and there are plans to double the eight-strong chain over the next four years.
19-Jan-2005

Alumet Systems has acquired Avon Manufacturing, the building envelope supplier, taking its total turnover to £12m.
19-Jan-2005

Ringway has acquired TE Beach, the Dartford-based road maintenance company, for undisclosed terms.
19-Jan-2005

DCC has acquired Dyneley Holdings, the fuel card distributor, for £10m, while sister company DCC Healthcare has acquired 77% of Laleham Healthcare for £7.3m.
19-Jan-2005

Watson Wyatt, the Surrey-based financial services consultancy, is to be acquired by US sister company Watson Wyatt & Company for £243m.
19-Jan-2005

WestLB is said to be planning to sell the Boxclever TV rental business to Fortress Investor Group and Cerberus Capital for an estimated £140m.
18-Jan-2005

Lets Drive, the Billingham-based driver training company with 55 staff, has been bought out of administration by LVG of Brighton for undisclosed terms.
17-Jan-2005

Business Direct Group has acquired Concord Couriers, Concord Logistics and Concord Welwyn Garden City for up to £2m, including two call centres and four delivery depots.
17-Jan-2005

APL Technologies has acquired Auto Effects out of administration, safeguarding about 40 jobs, and the Bicester automotive painting operation may relocate to a larger site.
17-Jan-2005

John Cheatle Group has acquired the Rawcliffes chain of 19 schoolwear shops for undisclosed terms, taking its total network to 70.
17-Jan-2005

Dawson International is to acquire Dorma, the bed linen manufacturer with two plants in the north west, from Coats for £10m.
17-Jan-2005

Vislink is planning to acquire Link Research, the supplier of wireless camera systems for broadcasting, for up to £11m.
17-Jan-2005

Close Brothers has acquired the commercial asset finance operations of Cattles for £70m.
17-Jan-2005

Caterham Cars, the sports car company, has been acquired by private equity firm Corven Ventures for undisclosed terms.
17-Jan-2005

Gabriel Contractors, the Enfield-based civil engineering firm, has merged with Volker Wessels-owned highways contractor Crowley.
17-Jan-2005

Inmedia has acquired the Cast media transmission facility in London, including equipment, premises and 22 staff.
17-Jan-2005

Stepquick has acquired Lithgow Nelson, the accountancy practice with offices in Southport and Preston, for £0.6m.
14-Jan-2005

Consort Homes has acquired Helmsdale Homes, in order to expand its housebuilding business into the west coast of Scotland.
14-Jan-2005

Murgitroyd Group has acquired David WJ Castle & Co, the London-based patent and trade mark attorney practice, for £3.3m.
13-Jan-2005

Julian Graves has acquired Boaters Coffee, the Bedfordshire-based speciality coffee supplier, for undisclosed terms.
13-Jan-2005

RPL, the Birmingham-based manufacturer of repetition turned parts with annual turnover of £3m, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
13-Jan-2005

Dawnus Construction has bought the Welsh operations of Butterley Construction out of administration, including 39 staff in Bangor and Llanelli.
12-Jan-2005

Haymarket has acquired the Eve magazine publishing business, which has 32 staff, from BBC Worldwide for undisclosed terms.
12-Jan-2005

Local Radio Company has acquired KCR FM, the Liverpool-based radio station, for £0.5m.
12-Jan-2005

Pelcombe Training, the training company with 180 staff at 35 centres across the country, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Sovereign Capital for undisclosed terms.
12-Jan-2005

FD Systems has acquired Serion Solutions, the Woking-based software company, for undisclosed terms.
12-Jan-2005

Brett Oils has sold Ovoline, its lubricants operation with 60 staff in Edinburgh and Lincoln, to Fuchs of Germany for undisclosed terms.
12-Jan-2005

Pharmaceutical Profiles, the Nottingham-based drug development company with 100 staff, has undergone a £10m management buy-out.
12-Jan-2005

Antisoma is to acquire Aptamera, the US drug developer, for £12m.
11-Jan-2005

T Clarke has acquired Smith Contracting Services, the electrical and mechanical contractor with 170 staff in Falkirk and Aberdeen, for £4.2m.
11-Jan-2005

New Crane, the consumer publishing company, and Cottage Publishing, the publisher of puzzle magazines, have been acquired by Seven Publishing for £14m.
11-Jan-2005

Laird has acquired Cateron Corporation, the supplier of EMI shielding fabric over foam gaskets with sites in Taiwan and China, for £13m.
11-Jan-2005

THB Group has acquired Carter Gilbrook, the Essex-based insurance broker, for an initial £0.3m.
11-Jan-2005

Greenhous Group, the Shropshire-based chain of five car dealerships, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
11-Jan-2005

Fragonset and Merlin have merged to create a combined Derby-based train operating and rolling stock business called FM Rail, with 70 staff.
11-Jan-2005

Superquinn, the Irish grocery retailer, is to be acquired by Select Retail Holdings for £244m, and the new owners may expand the business into Northern Ireland.
10-Jan-2005

Donaldsons has acquired Jonathan Edwards Consulting, the property management consultant with ten staff, for undisclosed terms.
10-Jan-2005

Piling Solutions, the Suffolk-based piling contractor with 45 staff, has been acquired by Spie Batignolles of France.
10-Jan-2005

ABR Solutions, the Leamington-based construction labour agency with 30 staff, has been bought out of administration by former management and is now trading as In-Site Solutions.
10-Jan-2005

Tellings Golden Miller is planning to acquire the Airlinks coach business at Heathrow airport from National Express, including 36 vehicles and 90 staff.
10-Jan-2005

Certex UK, the Doncaster-based lifting equipment manufacturer with 150 staff, has undergone a £5.2m management buy-out from FKI.
10-Jan-2005

Celltalk has acquired the IT and telecom assets of Beneficial Group out of administration, including 12 Manchester-based staff.
07-Jan-2005

Farrow House, the provider of adolescent care services in eastern England, has undergone a £21m management buy-out backed by 3i.
07-Jan-2005

HSA Group has acquired BCWA, the Bristol-based medical insurance company, for undisclosed terms.
07-Jan-2005

Next Generation Clubs has acquired the Harbour Club in London for £16m, and is now planning to expand its chain of 13 fitness clubs with one or two new sites a year.
06-Jan-2005

Exel has acquired Power Packaging, the US-based contract manufacturer with net assets of £22m.
06-Jan-2005

Sage has acquired Simultan, the Swiss supplier of accounting and payroll software, for £11m.
06-Jan-2005

Icon Polymer Group has acquired Silvertown UK, the Burton-upon-Trent-based manufacturer of rubber bearings with 250 staff, for undisclosed terms.
06-Jan-2005

Astropol has acquired Portwood Colour, the Bury-based PVC powder colouring company, for undisclosed terms.
06-Jan-2005

Johnson Service has acquired the corporate wear business of Dewhirst Group for £22m.
05-Jan-2005

API Group is planning to sell its API Converted Products division, which includes 250 staff in Saxmundham, Cheltenham and Nelson, to a management buy-in for up to £12m.
05-Jan-2005

TripleArc has acquired HFS Products, the direct mail company with about 240 staff in Swindon and Cirencester, for an initial £0.6m.
05-Jan-2005

Computer Software Group has acquired Alveston Holdings, the Bristol-based company that trades as Systems Team, for £4.8m.
05-Jan-2005

Hanson has acquired Marshalls Clay Products, the clay bricks division of Marshalls with sites in Yorkshire and Lancashire, for £65m.
05-Jan-2005

Teknor Apex of the US has acquired the engineering thermoplastics compounding business of Chem Polymer, which includes 150 staff at plants in Oldbury, Cinderford and the US, for undisclosed terms.
05-Jan-2005

Menzies Hotels, the chain of 14 four-star hotels, has been acquired by Nikko Principal Investments for £120m.
04-Jan-2005

Gymbox, the operator of a fitness and entertainment club in London, has undergone a £3m management buy-out.
04-Jan-2005

Kinloch Damph, the supplier to the Scottish salmon farming industry with annual turnover of £7m, has been acquired by Norwegian-owned Scottish Sea Farms.
04-Jan-2005