Melbourne Norton Rose loses head of M&A

THE head of Norton Rose's capital markets group has left the firm's Melbourne office for Beijing's escalating flow of M&A work.

Corporate finance partner Michael Wilton takes 25 years experience in mergers and acquisitions to Norton Rose's Beijing office where he will be a corporate finance partner.

He the region has seen "unprecedented growth, a thirst for resources".

He said there is "an appetite for gaining footholds in countries that have traditionally proven difficult to gain entry".

"Chinese corporations are increasingly looking to access overseas markets through mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. This is coupled with an increasing trend toward securing additional equity financing in offshore exchanges including Hong Kong, London, New York, Toronto and Australia.”

Wilton specializes in equity and debt capital markets. His expertise includes cross-border transactions involving Chinese outbound investment.

Peter Burrows, head of the Norton Rose China practice, said the new recruit has the necessary skill, expertise and years of transactional experience.

He will "provide a valuable additional resource in Beijing for clients seeking to expand abroad and make an impact at a global level", Burrows said.

Norton Rose has an recognized presence in Beijing and Shanghai, and its China practice advises international clients across a broad range of industries, dealing with major M&A transactions, capital raising, infrastructure projects, foreign direct investment, and arbitration.

Corporate Finance Groups Warned of 'Patchy' UK Rebound

The UK economic recovery will remain "choppy" over the next two years, according to a new report from the CBI. 

Corporate finance groups have been advised that Britain's economic rebound is likely to remain sluggish over the next two years, after a new report cited concerns over government spending cuts.

According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the UK's gross domestic product will climb by 1.7 per cent this year and 2.2 per cent in 2012 - both downgraded by 0.1 per cent on February's forecast.

"The recovery continues to be choppy ... Expansion in certain sectors is being offset by weaker performance in others," said CBI chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty. "What remains striking is how little we expect the pace of growth to accelerate."

Director general John Cridland added that although the process of "rebalancing" Britain's finances was always bound to take a considerable amount of time, there will be few signs of a genuine recovery until at least 2013.

Last week, the CBI welcomed the Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5 per cent, but predicted the Monetary Policy Committee would begin normalising its fiscal stance by the end of 2011.

Robert Kerr Passes the Baton to Corporate Finance Chief

Graeme Finnie is in line to take over as managing partner of French Duncan, when Robert Kerr steps up to the role of chairman on 1 May after 11 years in the post.

Finnie has been a partner at French Duncan for six years and currently leads its corporate finance advisory team, and says he plans to continue the strategy which has seen the firm more than double its turnover to £8.5 million over the past few years.

Finnie said: “Robert has turned French Duncan from a relatively modest-sized Glasgow-based operation into one of Scotland’s largest independent accountancy firms. He has done that by a shrewd combination of growth, both organically and by acquisition, and merger. As such, he has bequeathed me an excellent platform on which to build.”

Kerr added: “Graeme is the right man at the right time to take the firm forward. His experience both within and outside the accountancy profession, where he successfully ran two service sector companies for a period of time, gives him an additional understanding of the needs of entrepreneurs who form the greater part of our client base.

“In the short-term, I want French Duncan to break the £10 million annual turnover barrier and, within five years, £15 million and to be perceived as an attractive, indigenous alternative to larger national and international practices.”