Background

The Corporate Finance Market

According to most available measures, over the last 2-3 years the corporate finance market in Scotland has continued to pick up from relatively low levels of activity as the global economic slowdown and falls in stock markets took their toll. Beyond the few large, headline-grabbing transactions, businesses have continued to do what businesses do - developing, growing, buying, selling. Many businesses have been working away successfully, but quietly, developing their businesses many principally through bank finance, maybe transferring ownership "down the line" or taking over trade competitors.

It is against this backdrop of continuing corporate activity in the "real world" that in 2003 Harper Macleod established a new corporate finance advisory business, HM Corporate Solutions. Harper Macleod has long been noted for its innovative approach to servicing the legal market in Scotland and this innovative stance gave rise to a recognition that there was space in the market for a realistic approach to the needs of businesses - realistic in terms of the advice that companies really need as well as in relation to costs. It was also recognised that there is great value in being able to provide existing and prospective clients with a broader range of services.