Kreston Brighture, China, June newsletter 2024
June 17, 2024
Kreston Global firm, Brighture, shares its expertise in its latest newsletter covering financial news and updates from China.
June 17, 2024
Kreston Global firm, Brighture, shares its expertise in its latest newsletter covering financial news and updates from China.
June 14, 2024
Kreston Reeves has successfully provided transaction advisory services to A4P Consulting on its sale to LabConnect, a US-based leader in global central laboratory services and scientific-focused Functional Service Provider (FSP) solutions.
Headquartered in Discovery Park, Sandwich, Kent, with a subsidiary in Appenzell, Switzerland, A4P Consulting specialises in regulated bioanalysis and genomics, biomarker strategy, personalised healthcare, biosample operations, and bespoke logistics solutions. A4P serves a diverse clientele across various therapeutic areas, partnering with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research organisations, and foundations/non-governmental organisations.
LabConnect, renowned for its innovative Central Laboratory Services and scientific FSP solutions, supports clinical trials of all sizes and complexity globally. As the demands of clinical trials and drug development have increased, LabConnect meets these challenges by providing comprehensive scientific and technical expertise, strategic lab data collection advice, and end-to-end analytical and logistical solutions tailored to each trial.
The acquisition of A4P Consulting by LabConnect significantly enhances LabConnect’s industry-leading position. This strategic move unlocks exciting opportunities for both companies to broaden their geographic reach and enhance their service offerings. Ian James, PhD., Co-Founder and CEO of A4P, expressed his enthusiasm for the future:
“I am excited for the future for both our customers and our valued staff, and grateful to the team at Kreston Reeves for bringing their experience and insights to get this deal across the line.”
The Kreston Reeves transaction advisory services team, led by Partner Scott Mile and Business Advisory Manager Jak Hill, with tax advice from Director Michael Haig, played a pivotal role in bringing this deal to fruition. Their expertise and insights were instrumental in navigating the complexities of the transaction, ensuring a successful outcome for all parties involved. This highlights Kreston Reeves’ exceptional capabilities in transaction advisory services.
Dawn Sherman, CEO of LabConnect, highlighted the complementary experience and expertise that A4P brings. The combined strengths of both companies provide clients with unprecedented access to cutting-edge scientific solutions, furthering the mission to create healthier communities and improve patient lives by accelerating the development of medicines.
If you would like to speak to one of our experts about transaction advisory services at Kreston Global, please get in touch.
June 13, 2024
We are proud to announce that Kreston Global has been named a finalist for the ESG/Sustainability Initiative of the Year at the International Accounting Awards 2024.
This nomination highlights our dedication to sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as demonstrated by our ESG efforts in:
The winner will be announced on June 20. We extend our best wishes to the fellow finalists!
June 10, 2024
Kreston Global’s latest business survey the interpreneur (international entrepreneur) report 2024, published today, reveals that small and medium business CEOs have a positive outlook towards their global operations and are prepared to harness disruption to drive commercial growth at home and abroad.
This comes despite macroeconomic concerns around geopolitical disruption, slowing global GDP, and a gradual decline in international collaboration, dampening commercial outlooks for many public companies and giving rise to ‘deglobalisation’ concerns.
Now in its second iteration, the Kreston interpreneur report is based on a survey across 14 different countries of 1,400 ‘interpreneurs’ or business leaders of organisations with revenue up to £300 million (approx. $372 million) who had successfully expanded their business into international markets. The research explores small-to-medium business global mobility trends and the strategies and tools business leaders use to navigate the commercial pressures of global entrepreneurship today.
While interpreneurs acknowledge the challenging macro-economic headwinds facing global expansion, it is clear that the reward outweighs the risk. Almost all respondents (96%) agree that global expansion has been of benefit to their business, citing commercial growth across increased sales and revenue (53%) and profitability (46%) as the top benefits.
Evaluating their international expansion journey, more than half of survey respondents said their businesses’ primary motivation was to secure market growth opportunities (52%), followed by a desire to gain a competitive advantage by gaining a foothold in new regions before rivals (36%). Respondents were far less interested in the incentives, that the host country had to offer (17%).
The biggest challenges faced were adapting logistics and supply chain issues (41%), finding the right local partners (39%) and managing economic volatility (38%).
Looking ahead, 87% of respondents said they expect an increase in the number of businesses expanding overseas in the next 12 months. When asked which region or country respondents would consider expanding to, just 1% cited no plans or intention to move into a new market. The most popular destinations respondents said their business would consider expanding into are Western Europe (52%) and North America (48%).
When evaluating what makes a country or region most attractive for international expansion, respondents cited favourable economic prospects (43%), favourable trade agreements (41%) and availability of skills and talent (41%).
Liza Robbins, Chief Executive of Kreston Global, said:
“Our 2022 report – released in a period of global recovery and optimism – demonstrated a huge appetite for SME international expansion. Despite the critical global challenges we are facing, this appetite seems to not only have been maintained but intensified as SME business leaders seek out larger markets and commercial channels for growth.
“Although the global challenges faced by interpreneurs are acute, with supply chains and logistics remaining a consistent challenge between the 2022 and 2024 report, SMEs are uniquely positioned to deal with navigating uncertainty. Harnessing the benefit of agility, interpreneurs can turn those challenges into opportunities and leverage new ways in which to make their business successful at home and abroad.
“With these findings in mind, our objective remains to inspire and equip interpreneurs – or those with ambitions to expand internationally – to not only navigate international markets and the ever-evolving regulatory environment, but thrive in any situation and confront any obstacle posed.”
Rich Howard, Chair of Kreston Global, added:
“It has been very interesting to see how interpreneurial attitudes have changed over the course of two tumultuous years. It is encouraging that most interpreneurs in this survey do not see overseas expansion slowing down any time soon. There is still a clear appetite for accessing and expanding into new markets as well as international collaboration.
“This report provides fascinating insight into everything that current and prospective interpreneurs should consider when looking to expand overseas including both the cited benefits as well as the key risks.”