Law firm Fieldfisher ‘s Manchester team has struck a huge deal with a £135m takeover and £130m of secondary fundraising.

The team has closed its first major deal of the year for long-term client Marlowe, which has acquired Optima Health, a provider of technology-enabled occupational health services with a £68m revenue.

The acquisition aims to drive Marlowe’s strategy in becoming a leader in the occupational health sector and is a great achievement for the Manchester team, led by corporate partner David Bowcock, which posted incredible figures for 2021 as Covid pandemic effects began to ease off.

Fieldfisher’s work included advising Made Tech Group on its £180m AIM IPO and secondary fundraisings totalling more than £250m for issuer and broker clients based throughout the UK.

M&A activity involved a number of acquisitions for AIM-listed data management specialist Restore, including its £61m acquisition of EDM Group, and 21 acquisitions by Marlowe, including a £54m acquisition of Vinciworks.

David Bowcock said: “In March 2020, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in anticipating a very difficult and potentially extended period of challenging conditions for deal making. But after the first couple of months of the pandemic, we found that entrepreneurial ambition and investor appetite remained undimmed. In 2021, we’ve seen that ambition and appetite get stronger and more determined.

“Institutional money has become that much more focused on winning sectors, particularly certain burgeoning sub-sectors within the tech industry, and we’ve seen some business owners sell on to the next generation of UK entrepreneurs, a great many of whom are here in the North West.”