Mobile: +44 (0)776 825 5194
Tel: +44 (0)845 643 5500
Where did your interest in Corporate Finance begin?
I specialised in corporate finance whilst at Deloitte with experience gained in MBO’s fundraising and corporate restructuring. As a graduate FCA, in 1989, I went into industry as Finance Director of Curran Engineering, a subsidiary of Aerospace Engineering plc, but was retained by Deloitte until 2004 as a Consultant on the international Banco Ambrosiano liquidation.
In 1992, as MD, I led an MBO of Currans, backed by 3i Group plc and Barclays Bank, which was subsequently sold in 1996. Prior to selling, I embarked on a number of turnarounds as interim MD for several companies in South Wales. Whilst in industry, my preferred area of operation was M&A, and we made several acquisitions and raised finance for a start-up business. This sparked the idea of a dedicated corporate finance practice which became a reality when I joined Gambit.
When did you join Gambit?
I joined Gambit in 1995 as a founder partner as I recognised that its approach was different from the major accountancy firms. Gambit encourages creativity, partner-led entrepreneurism and it enabled me to initiate and lead several significant merger and acquisition transactions in the UK and internationally.
Cross-border transactions have featured strongly in my M&A activities with deals concluded in the US, India, Australia, France, Sweden, Italy and nine acquisitions for Biotrace International plc, seven of which were based overseas.
Over the years, I’ve also gained extensive experience in the healthcare, med-tech, cleantech and specialist engineering sectors, and I led a government funded project with Cardiff University on Succession Planning culminating in the launch of the firm’s new product, “STEP”.
I lead the firm’s Value Maximisation Review team, which focuses on assisting clients to identify key strategic initiatives necessary to enhance value and prepare for fundraising, acquisition or exit.
What are you known for?
Probably first and foremost as a dealmaker. I had the privilege of leading notable transactions with economic impact, including Wales’ largest management buy-out of Newport Water Fab for £110 million and a greenfield start-up fundraising of over £120 million for a new generation holiday village, Bluestone.
In 2007, I was voted Wales Dealmaker of the Year and again in 2013 and 2017, the first person to achieve the accolade three times. I was also awarded ICAEW Best Chartered Accountant in Practice in 2008 but I think that people will also recognise how the practice has flourished too. I’m proud to say that it has been recognised as Most Active Corporate Finance Practice in Wales over 10 years between 2007 – 2016.
In 2016, 2017 and 2018 Gambit won Corporate Finance Firm of the Year for its role in a number of iconic deals including the sale of Wheelies/Tredz to Halfords and ACT to Cardiff and Vale College respectively, both of which I led.
What might people not know about you?
I’m a Governor of Cardiff Metropolitan University and The Cathedral School (Cardiff) and I chair the board of Trustees of Bobath Children’s Cerebral Palsy Therapy Centre, which I have supported for 15 years.
In November 2017, I was appointed Chairman of the Regional Economic Growth Partnership Board. It has been established to oversee the £1.2 billion Cardiff City Region Deal's investment programme and economic strategy, whilst promoting inward investment and visitors to Cardiff City Region comprising 10 local authorities.
I’m also an avid collector of Welsh contemporary art and a frequent media commentator on the economy and business trends.
30 June 2015
As a nation, we are seriously exposed to a failure to equip our school leavers for life and the work...
Read More11 June 2013
An enormous amount of money and effort has gone into attracting foreign jobs to Wales, while at the other...
Read More11 July 2012
Frank Holmes looks at whether starting a company at the right time and in the right industry is a matter...
Read More13 April 2010
ONE of the world's leading private equity figures Jon Moulton will address a conference in Newport...
Read More30 September 2010
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its first Succession...
Read More22 December 2006
This year has featured a momentous volley of mergers and acquisitions in Wales and around the world,...
Read More08 September 2014
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its latest Food &...
Read More29 September 2017
Frank Holmes of Gambit Corporate Finance has been crowned Dealmaker of the Year at the Wales Dealmakers...
Read More16 May 2018
Bluestone has revealed ambitious plans for a second luxury tourism resort in Wales.
In what would...
Read More19 November 2019
Gambit Corporate Finance announces the publication of its Succession Planning Bulletin, Issue 6.
... Read More06 April 2020
During the unprecedented disruption to businesses and the economy over the...
Read More28 May 2015
Many of you have spent a substantial part of your lives building and nurturing a business which by all...
Read More13 June 2012
WE recently conducted a survey of business owners who had sold their companies in order to better...
Read More26 January 2010
"Slumps offers opportunities, claims finance company; But firms must move fast to survive, adds...
Read More14 December 2006
An industrial safety business born in a spare bedroom in 1983 and based in Barry has been bought by an...
Read More15 January 2014
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP is pleased to announce the release of its latest quarterly food and...
Read More13 November 2017
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP is pleased to announce that it has acted for the shareholders of Newport...
Read More15 April 2020
COVID-19 Business Support - Gambit Update 15 April 2020
Gambit's latest Covid-19 Business...
Read More21 July 2020
In this edition of Gambit's Business Support Update, we consider the...
Read More29 September 2014
Aircraft ground support and specialist access equipment designer and manufacturer, TBD (Owen Holland)...
Read More01 September 2010
Just three management buyouts (MBOs) have crossed Insider’s radar so far this year, but the latest...
Read More22 June 2011
Founder and partner with Cardiff-based Gambit Corporate Finance, Frank Holmes on maximising the potential...
Read More03 June 2009
DRAGON. Business angel. Entrepreneur. Whatever label you attach to Peter Saunders there's no getting...
Read More22 May 2013
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP is pleased to announce the publication of the fourth edition of its...
Read More19 November 2013
Gambit releases the Autumn edition of its Quarterly Food & Beverage Review
19 November...
Read More20 October 2017
Voltcom Group, a principal contractor to the UK electricity transmission and distribution market, has...
Read More29 January 2020
In 2008, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, revoked Capital Gains’...
Read More27 April 2020
Gambit's latest Covid-19 Business Support Update details the key funding schemes available to UK...
Read More01 February 2017
Welsh colleges are planning further takeovers of private training providers, according to a leading...
Read More03 October 2013
Gambit celebrated achieving Deal of the Year 2013 at the Midlands Dealmakers Awards for the management...
Read More16 December 2014
The UK has undoubtedly experienced a severe recession in recent years, out of which UK consumers have...
Read More04 April 2012
It is a mystery as to who planted the seed of the first hedge fund. Reference to ‘hedging’ as...
Read More15 June 2011
NEARLY half (44%) of directors orchestrating business exit deals in Wales in recent years were under the...
Read More25 February 2009
THE current economic slowdown will present opportunities for focused companies willing to embrace change,...
Read More07 May 2013
Frank Holmes on the damaging drag on the economy of so-called zombie companies.
You may have seen... Read More31 July 2012
The Safety Letterbox Company (SLB), a Neath-based manufacturer of lockable mailboxes, has been acquired by...
Read More07 May 2020
Gambit's latest COVID-19 Business Support Review highlights the utilistion statistics of the current...
Read More11 February 2021
We have all faced unprecedented change. The challenge is now for owners and...
Read More14 October 2015
Alternative Business Funding
A Bristol firm pioneering an online platform providing a wide range...
Read More02 August 2013
Gambit Corporate Finance's Frank Holmes is a member of the Cardiff Business Council Advisory Board...
Read More12 October 2011
Frank Holmes of Gambit on what you should consider before making an equity investment into a company
... Read More08 June 2011
Research indicates there is only a one in 1,000 chance of a company surviving for 80 years, while...
Read More17 October 2008
Two awards were made last night highlighting excellence in accountancy in South Wales.
... Read More
24 April 2013
Partner at Gambit Corporate Finance Frank Holmes and Alex Griffiths, an undergraduate at the...
Read More04 June 2008
CARDIFF heliport's new owners have predicted a massive rise in its use.
The new...
Read More18 October 2016
Cardiff and Vale College acquires leading workplace training firm ACT in a deal that was structured by...
Read More15 May 2020
In this complex, rapidly evolving landscape, the need for fundamental...
Read More01 October 2020
With the re-introduction of social restrictions during a fragile period of...
Read More15 December 2016
Gambit Corporate Finance is delighted to announce that it has acted for the shareholders of Starc Holdings...
Read More14 September 2011
A CARDIFF firm specialising in representing consumers mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), has...
Read More06 January 2010
THE value and number of merger and acquisition deals fell sharply in Wales last year, according to data...
Read More30 May 2007
A PIONEERING biosciences company has launched a £1m fundraising bid as it prepares to launch a new...
Read More21 December 2016
Luxury tourism attraction Bluestone National Park Resort is to create 300 new jobs following a...
Read More22 December 2010
Frank Holmes, partner in Gambit Corporate Finance, gives his analysis of corporate transaction activity...
Read More21 November 2017
The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) City Deal team has announced the appointment of Frank Holmes, founder...
Read More04 September 2018
NRS Healthcare has acquired Complete Care Networks (“CCN”). Based...
Read More11 February 2019
Gambit Corporate Finance has acted as lead advisor to the shareholders of...
Read More31 March 2020
COVID-19: Business Support - Expectations vs. Reality
The recent Budget and subsequent...
Read More08 June 2020
COVID-19 Business Support - The Return - 'Seeing Around Corners' In this edition of Gambit's...
Read More12 November 2020
A new voice to represent the vision and ambitions of manufacturers across...
Read More10 July 2013
Management buy-out for holiday park in Pembrokeshire rumoured to have cost group more than £10m
... Read More30 April 2010
FIRMS less than five years old have accounted for a quarter of all corporate exit deals in Wales over the...
Read More11 March 2011
Cardiff based specialist company information provider 7Side has been acquired by an Australian...
Read More11 May 2007
Cardiff University and corporate finance firm Gambit are joining forces to create a dedicated business...
Read More21 September 2017
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP (“Gambit”) and Acuity Legal (“Acuity”) have acted as...
Read More04 September 2018
Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF), a leading UK speciality bakery...
Read More24 April 2019
Frank Holmes, Partner at Gambit Corporate Finance, was presented with the...
Read More10 June 2020
Frank Holmes, Partner at Gambit Corporate Finance, recently spoke...
Read More11 August 2015
Mergers and acquisitions activity levels exploded in June 2015 with announced worldwide corporate deal...
Read More02 July 2013
'Cardiff is very much open for business', says body set up to support economic development of...
Read More11 November 2014
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its latest Food &...
Read More21 July 2011
A US technology company has gained its first foothold in the European market, following the acquisition of...
Read More06 October 2010
South Wales’ business community has gathered together to celebrate an innovative new partnership...
Read More11 April 2007
A south Wales venture which is the official global supplier of spare parts and accessories for Land Rover...
Read More25 February 2016
A recent article in the Sunday Times which focused on UK company start ups in 2015 attracted our interest...
Read More24 May 2016
Swansea-based online premium bike retailer Tredz and sister bike replacement to the insurance sector firm...
Read More25 September 2017
A Cardiff-based company that specialises in the construction, hire and sale of modular buildings has been...
Read More31 August 2018
On 31st August, the 26-year-old specialist advisory firm broke its own...
Read More07 April 2020
Frank Holmes, Partner discusses how business’ investment in intangible assets is proving to be the...
Read More07 July 2020
In this edition of Gambit's Business Support Update - 'Looking Forward',...
Read More06 January 2021
We have all faced unprecedented change. The challenge is now for owners and...
Read More15 July 2020
Gambit Corporate Finance has acted as lead advisor to the shareholders of Homestyle Care on its sale to...
Read More10 April 2015
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its latest Food &...
Read More31 March 2020
Last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer formally announced details of the government's Statutory...
Read More24 August 2016
The most active legal and corporate finance advisers in the Welsh deal making community, over the past ten...
Read More06 April 2020
In this time of uncertainty and isolation we can all benefit from increased...
Read More09 December 2020
Gambit's Succession Planning team is pleased to publish its latest...
Read More23 April 2021
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP has compiled and analysed a database of...
Read More07 January 2021
Gambit Corporate Finance, using its own market intelligence and...
Read More23 September 2016
Gambit are pleased to have been named this years Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the year at the...
Read More05 February 2021
Heathpak, one of the leading producers of solid board packaging solutions in...
Read More26 January 2017
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP enjoyed a spectacular 2016 advising on 12 transactions with a total deal...
Read More18 September 2015
Gambit Corporate Finance were shortlisted for Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the Year...
Read More13 March 2013
CORPORATE finance specialist Gambit is celebrating 20 years of merger and acquisition deal making.
... Read More29 September 2017
Gambit retained the award won in 2016. The team advised on £180m of transactions over the...
Read More23 June 2017
The vast majority of firms in Wales which have been acquired over the last decade, in exit deals with a...
Read More03 May 2017
Jason Evans, Regional Director for Lloyds Bank Mid Markets is joining Gambit as a Partner in July...
Read More05 July 2017
Gambit Corporate Finance LLP celebrated their 25th Anniversary and a cumulative deal value exceeding...
Read More23 September 2016
Gambit are pleased to have been named this years Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the year at the...
Read More