There was a lot of press interest, quite rightly, because there were a lot of jobs at stake

Two of my guests for The Lunch this month, Graham Alexander and Peter Murray, are at the heart of many of the northeast’s biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals.

My third guest, Ken Shaw, is a key player further down the line, when M&A transactions impact on the commercial property market in and around Aberdeen.

We met up for a superb meal at The Marcliffe Hotel, which has itself provided an impressive backdrop for more than a few business deal-breaking discussions over the years.

Mr Alexander, partner and head of corporate finance at Aberdeen-based accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael (JC), got the ball rolling with his take on current M&A trends affecting the region’s economy.

Last year was a busy one for JC on the M&A front but the market remains “sticky”, he said, adding: “There is no real momentum yet.

“There is activity – more activity – but it is not quite what we might have expected under the traditional model of the market coming back.”

He said he was “cautiously optimistic” amid a rebalancing to “the new norm”, although the level and volume of activity over the past year was “not massively more” than in 2018.

Potential buyers are taking more time to weigh up the pros and cons of investing in expansion in a market still struggling to shake off the impact of a severe oil and gas downturn, Mr Alexander said.

When they do make their move, they are making “sensible” decisions to “buy well”, he said, adding: “There is not the rush to buy and there is also not really a rush to sell.”

Deals are becoming increasingly complex – “more challenging than half a dozen years ago” – and that is unlikely to change in 2020, he said.

Mr Murray, partner and head of corporate at Granite City-based law firm Ledingham Chalmers (LC), also used the adjective “sensible” to describe investment decisions in the current market.

With nearly 23 years under his belt at LC, the Aberdeen University law graduate has been involved in plenty of major corporate finance deals and group restructures over the years.

Last year he was right at the heart of a management buyout (MBO) at paper-maker Ajowiggins.

Historic Stoneywood Mill in Aberdeen and other UK operations were spared the axe, saving around 450 jobs in the Granite City, when bosses – supported by Scottish Enterprise and others – acquired the business out of administration.

LC co-ordinated the efforts of nine law firms acting for the management team.

Mr Murray said the transaction, known as Project Score, was complex but hugely enjoyable. “MBOs are my favourite kind of transaction and that was a great one,” he added.

“It was certainly an interesting one to be involved in. There was a lot of press interest, quite rightly, because there were a lot of jobs at stake.”

An 18-strong team of lawyers from LC’s offices in Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh and Stirling – supported by specialists in M&As, commercial property and banking, among others – helped pull off the deal.

Asked if there were more like it to come in the north-east, Mr Murray said: “Absolutely.”

Potential investors in a business are now better able to understand “what it is going to look like” in two or three years’ time, thanks to a recovering local economy, Mr Murray said.

The energy transition is also increasingly becoming a factor, he said, adding: “That’s the direction of travel for the world.”

Both the accountant and the lawyer agreed the price of a barrel of oil and confidence levels within the business community tend to dictate most big investment decisions in the north-east.

Commercial property markets in the area took a battering during the downturn and are only now showing green shoots of recovery.

Mr Shaw, partner and investment & finance specialist in the Aberdeen office of Scottish property firm Ryden, said there was usually a lag between