Private equity firm Harwood Private Equity’s £65.8m takeover of Frenkel Topping, a Salford-based financial adviser and professional services firm, has moved a step closer after receiving FCA approval.
The deal was first announced 2 June 2025 and was originally expected to complete in the first half of this year.
The bid from Irwell Financial Services Bidco Ltd, which is managed by Harwood Private Equity, will see shareholders will receive 50 pence cash and one contingent value right for each scheme share held, or an alternative offer of 10p in cash, plus shares in the newly-created company.
This values Frenkel at £65.8m, a 12.9% premium to the 29 September closing price of 45.5 pence.
The acquisition will be completed via a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement.
The deal remains subject to the court sanctioning the scheme at a hearing, and is now expected to complete by 29 July.
Frenkel Topping was established in 1979 as a specialist forensic accountant by John Frenkel and Mike Topping. The company was dedicated to servicing lawyers dealing with large personal injury and clinical negligence claims. It floated on AIM in 2004.
It now has a number of businesses including Cardinal Management, which was established in 2015 to provide trauma support and direction. In 2016, Frenkel Topping Group launched its discretionary fund management service, Ascencia, and in 2018 it created wealth manager Obiter.
In recent years it has been busy on the acquisition trail, beginning with Manchester and Leeds-based forensic accountancy firm Forth’s in 2020. In 2021 it acquired civil and commercial litigation costs consultants A&M Bacon and Partners in Costs (PIC), a costs law specialist, both based in Doncaster.