Deal PR · Corporate transaction communications · Manchester and across the UK
Deal PR for acquisitions, business sales and investment.
Sugar PR helps businesses and their professional advisers coordinate confidential, positive communications around acquisitions, business sales, investment and other corporate transactions.
- SME and owner-managed business sales
- Acquisitions and disposals
- Management buyouts
- Private equity and external investment
- Administration and pre-pack sales
- Manchester-based, UK-wide support
Deal PR that protects confidence
The right story, told to the people who matter.
A transaction can shape the future of a company. The way it is communicated affects how clients, customers, staff, investors, suppliers and other stakeholders understand the change.
From our Manchester base, Sugar PR supports transactions across the UK. Our experienced team is led by Pete Davies, who has spent more than 20 years working on communications for deals representing over £250 million in value.
Legal teams, accountants, corporate finance advisers and management teams trust us to get the communications right. We coordinate the different strands, frame the deal in the right context and help everyone involved work from a clear, agreed plan.
The Sugar PR Deal PR Project Package
All the communications angles, properly coordinated.
Our professional Deal PR Project Package brings the communications strands together so the transaction can be announced accurately, discreetly and positively to the people who matter. Led by Pete Davies, the work is tailored to the deal, its timetable and the people affected.
- Communications planning aligned with the transaction timetable
- Core messaging that explains the deal and frames its context
- Audience planning for clients, customers, staff, investors and suppliers
- Press releases, media handling and announcement materials
- Staff briefings, FAQs and customer or supplier communications
- Coordination with legal, financial and transaction advisers
- Spokesperson preparation and support with difficult questions
- Post-announcement and post-completion communications
Investment communications
Make the investment story clear and positive.
Investment brings opportunity, but the announcement needs to explain what it means for the company and the people connected to it. We work with company management and funders to develop and execute the story positively.
We help explain why the investment is happening, what it will enable and what comes next, then coordinate communications for staff, customers, investors, suppliers and media. Our experience includes seed funding, external investment and private equity transactions, as well as acquisitions and business sales.
Complex and sensitive transactions
Careful communications when the stakes are high.
Some deals need additional communications planning around regulatory scrutiny, insolvency or administration. We work alongside the professional advisers responsible for each part of the process.
Where a transaction requires Competition and Markets Authority review or approval, we coordinate communications with the legal team responsible for the regulatory process. We also support insolvency and administration communications, including pre-pack sales, working with insolvency practitioners and administrators.
Our work with Begbies Traynor and BTG Advisory reflects our experience in sensitive business situations, where timing, accuracy and clear stakeholder communications matter.
Selected deal experience
Trusted to get the communications right.
From owner-managed businesses and growth investment to administration and high-profile acquisitions, Pete Davies and the Sugar PR team have worked alongside management teams, buyers, funders and professional advisers to communicate transactions with care.
Shred Easy — sale to PHS Datashred
Sugar PR advised the Shred Easy management team on communications around the sale of the business to PHS Datashred, part of the PHS Group.
We were retained after the deal to advise on PR and communications.
Read the Manchester Evening News coverage
Gresham Wealth Management — joining Equilibrium
Sugar PR advised Gresham’s founders, Morven Millar and Jonathan Young, and worked in harmony with Equilibrium’s team on the deal communications. We coordinated a clear story around continuity for clients and staff: Gresham’s team would remain in Hale, supported by Equilibrium’s wider resources. Gresham managed approximately £285 million for 379 clients.
Read the Gresham announcement
Fowler & Holden — acquisition by TGM Partners
Sugar PR acted for TGM Partners on its acquisition of the Grimsby foundry and engineering business, founded in 1919. The sale was brokered by BTG Advisory, Sugar PR’s client, on behalf of Fowler & Holden’s owners. We coordinated the announcement around the company’s heritage, its people and customers, and TGM’s plans for stability, continuity and growth.
Read the deal announcement
Wigan Athletic — sale from administration
Sugar PR acted for Begbies Traynor during its administration of Wigan Athletic and the sale of the club to Phoenix 2021. We supported communications through a sensitive process that attracted intense attention from supporters, staff, creditors and the media.
Read the joint administrators’ statement
Communicate School — acquisition by Malvern International
Sugar PR was appointed to handle PR and media relations for the acquisition of the Manchester language school by AIM-listed Malvern International. Introduced by the company’s legal adviser, we coordinated the announcement and secured extensive, positive coverage in the Manchester Evening News, TheBusinessDesk.com and other regional and trade media.
Read about Sugar PR’s work on the deal
Pace Rehabilitation — acquisition by Ottobock
Sugar PR advised Pace on communications around its acquisition by Ottobock and was retained by Ottobock after the deal to support communications as the businesses moved into their next stage.
Read Ottobock’s announcement
Moneyshake — investment announcement
Sugar PR communicated the story around Moneyshake’s £500,000 seed investment from the Development Bank of Wales and private investor Tim Scholes, explaining the investment and the company’s plans for growth.
Read the Development Bank of Wales announcement
iKVA — £1.5 million funding
Sugar PR advised the management team, having been introduced through a Cambridge connection, on communications around iKVA’s £1.5 million seed funding.
Read the Cambridge Enterprise announcement
Digital Next Australia — business sale
Sugar PR controlled PR for the Digital Next management team around the sale of its Australian business to Maaya Capital, communicating the company’s journey from start-up to sale and the next chapter for both businesses.
Read the Digital Next announcementDiscreet by design
Trusted to handle sensitive information.
Deals often require discretion long before an announcement is ready. Sugar PR operates under a strict NDA policy and will sign an NDA for the engagement. We work closely with the client and their advisers to protect confidential information and coordinate what is shared, when and with whom.
We agree who can access materials, how communications are approved and when each audience should be informed. The result is a controlled process for preparing the story and managing the announcement.
Who we work with
For businesses and the advisers guiding their deal.
We support the people responsible for the transaction and the people whose confidence matters to the business.
Business owners and management teams
SMEs, owner-managed businesses and PLCs buying, selling, raising investment or preparing for their next phase.
Funders and corporate buyers
Banks, private equity investors, trade buyers and other funders communicating an acquisition, investment or portfolio development.
Professional advisers
Corporate lawyers, accountants, corporate finance advisers, insolvency practitioners and administrators working through a transaction.
Deal PR questions
Working with Sugar PR on a transaction.
When should we involve Sugar PR?
As early as possible, while the transaction is confidential. Early involvement gives the deal team time to agree the story, prepare materials and coordinate approvals before information is shared.
Do you work with owner-managed businesses?
Yes. Sugar PR specialises in SME transactions, including the acquisition and sale of owner-managed businesses. We also work with PLCs and support the transaction teams of professional advisers.
Can you work with our lawyers, accountants and funders?
Yes. We work alongside the professional teams involved in a transaction, coordinating communications with the agreed facts, approval process and deal timetable.
Can you advise private equity firms?
Yes. We advise private equity firms on communications around investments, acquisitions, portfolio company transactions and exits. We can work directly with the investment team or alongside existing advisers and in-house communications teams.
Can you assure confidentiality?
Yes. We will sign an NDA and work to an agreed confidentiality and approval process. We coordinate closely with your legal advisers, accountants and other professionals on both sides of the transaction so that messages, timing and approvals are aligned in harmony.
Can you communicate an investment announcement?
Yes. We work with company management and funders to develop and deliver a clear story about the investment, what it enables and what comes next for the business.
Can you support deals involving CMA review or insolvency?
Yes. We coordinate communications with the legal advisers responsible for CMA review or approval, and work with insolvency practitioners and administrators on insolvency and administration communications, including pre-pack sales.
Speak directly to Pete Davies
Let’s get the communications right for your deal.
If you are buying or selling a business, preparing an investment announcement or managing communications around an insolvency or administration deal, speak to Pete Davies in confidence.
Sugar PR is based in Manchester and supports businesses and professional advisers across the UK.
Call 0161 399 4507 or email hello@sugarpr.co.uk.
Deal PR · Corporate transaction communications
A clear story for the next chapter.
Senior-led deal communications from Manchester, supporting transactions across the UK.
