Corporate Finance Mid-Year Review

Laura McMorland is a Partner in the Corporate team at the full-service corporate firm, Bermans (Solicitors), in Manchester, with corporate law experience since 2006 both in-house and in private practice.  Having spent 13 years of her career in Aberdeen, the Oil and Gas Capital of Europe, Laura’s client base is now across a wide variety of sectors (including tech, charity, social housing and manufacturing) and her practice involves M&A, private equity, reorganisations, share options (EMI’s, EoTs) and other general corporate work.

Jane is a Senior Director in the Debt Advisory team at Alvarez & Marsal – one of the fastest growing,  global,  multi-disciplinary professional services advisors.

Based in Manchester, Jane heads up the UK mid-market leveraged debt team which focuses on advising Private Equity and management teams of private equity backed businesses,  across multiple sectors, on debt raises of between £10 – 150m to support acquisitions, growth strategies and refinancings.

Prior to joining Alvarez & Marsal in November 23, Jane spent 4 years at EY leading the debt team across the North and Midlands and prior to that had a career in banking with Virgin Money, Lloyds Banking Group and AIB.

Dean has over twenty years of experience in the investment industry. In his role as an economist, he is responsible for formulating the macroeconomic views for Europe and the UK and translating this into investment strategies across the fixed income and currency markets. He joined UBS in 2014 and prior to this held positions as an economist / strategist at HSBC and Barclays. Dean holds a Masters in Economics from the University of London, and is a CFA® and CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) charter holder.

Shru joined Dow Schofield Watts in 2024 as the Deputy CEO of DSW Capital plc, and was appointed CEO in April 2025.

Before this, Shru was CFO at Pick Everard, a national multi-disciplinary consultancy within the property, infrastructure and construction industry. There she was responsible for working with stakeholders across the group to drive change, business performance, and financial governance.

Shru also spent seven years at law firm Napthens, joining as Finance Director in 2014 before being appointed CEO in 2017. During her tenure, she was responsible for setting the firm’s overall growth strategy, helping to increase revenue and profitability, strategic recruitment, increasing the firm’s profile nationally and expanding the firm’s services both organically and through acquisitions.

A qualified accountant, Shru spent eight years at Bowmans and Baker Tilly (now part of RSM) at the start of her career. Shru has experience of M&A, financial due diligence, debt and equity fund raising and working within private equity backed businesses.

Tarifa leads the UK Transactions/Due Diligence team at Forvis Mazars. With over 20 years’ experience, Tarifa has been a proud Manchester resident for 18 years, working at a Big 4 firm and making Partner at Forvis Mazars in 2020

Tarifa has been involved in around 200 deals on the buy and sell side, for corporates and investors, and numerous cross-border transactions (including the US and Europe). She has worked with SMEs through to listed organisations, and provided strategic advice, pre-sale readiness and business reviews, financial due diligence, completion mechanisms and SPA, and post-deal considerations.

Bod works with businesses to help them understand and access the capital markets.  This includes both the public capital markets via IPO, and also the London Stock Exchange’s new private capital markets.  He is responsible for both the Main Market and the AIM growth market in the North.

Prior to joining the LSE, Bod was with investment bank Rothschild for 18 years, advising businesses and entrepreneurs on IPOs, capital raising, private equity, mergers and acquisitions.

Andy leads the MHA Corporate Finance team nationally, with a day to day focus on the North West, being a Founding Partner of their Manchester office.  He sits on the Baker Tilly EMEA Strategy Group as MHA is the UK member of Baker Tilly to accelerate cross-border transactions.

As a member of the MHA Board, Andy was part of the team who led the IPO of MHA in April 2025, named by Bloomberg as London’s biggest IPO of 2025 with an IPO on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market.

Dan Freed is a Partner at YFM Equity Partners, where he works closely with ambitious management teams to help scale their businesses. He focuses on originating and executing new investments, bringing 25 years of experience across private equity, corporate finance, strategy, and corporate development. Dan offers a broad and balanced perspective on growth and value creation, supports several portfolio companies at board level, and has led YFM’s investments into Manchester-based businesses Vypr, FourNet and Think Energy Group.

Chiara is a Director at Cavendish, a leading investment bank for ambitious and entrepreneurial businesses. She has over 20 years of M&A experience and previously worked as part of Deloitte’s M&A team, advising on strategic domestic and cross-border transactions for corporates, private equity houses, and owner-managed businesses.

At Cavendish, Chiara leads the execution of M&A transactions and capital-raising initiatives, supporting business owners and investors in achieving their strategic goals. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurial businesses unlock value and successfully navigate the challenges of complex deals.

Harry is a Partner based in the Manchester office and co-leads the investment team covering the North West. Prior to joining BGF in 2017, Harry worked in Dubai for the Varkey Group, where he focused on education investments around the world. He began his career at Deloitte working in Corporate Finance, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.