Eversheds Sutherland has advised longstanding client Perwyn, a leading European private equity investor, on its agreement to exit its majority holding in Lowe Rental to MML Keystone. Perwyn is also reinvesting in the company.
Lowe Rental is headquartered in Northern Ireland and is the global market leader in sustainable rental services, specialising in commercial refrigeration and catering equipment as well as kitchen and cold room infrastructure.
This transaction will follow Perwyn’s highly successful partnership with Lowe Rental and is a hallmark of Perwyn’s investment approach of partnering with and supporting a founder-led business throughout its growth journey.
Since 2018, Perwyn has supported the company in diversifying its customer base and product offering, expanding internationally, driving strategic M&A activity, and repositioning the business for long-term success. The business experienced record expansion throughout Perwyn’s tenure, with turnover growing from £33m in 2019 to c. £120m in 2025.
The Eversheds Sutherland cross-practice team was led by Private Capital Partner Richard Moulton. The core team comprised: Principal Associate Thomas Howell and Associate Georgie Shackleton (both Corporate Finance).
Commercial Advisory Partner Claire Morgan provided advice on the regulatory and anti-trust elements of the transaction, while Partner Colin Askew advised on tax.
Lowe Rental will embark on a new chapter of international growth and technological innovation. The company will pursue both organic and strategic acquisition-led growth, enhance its market-leading rental initiatives and further expand its innovative IoT offering.
Richard Moulton, Partner, Private Capital, Eversheds Sutherland, said:
“We’re thrilled to have supported Perwyn throughout the lifecycle of this investment - from the original acquisition in 2018 through to this successful agreement to exit. The trust Perwyn places in our team to deliver commercially focused, strategic advice on notably complex transactions such as this illustrates the strength of our longstanding relationship that we’ve had the pleasure of building. We look forward to continuing to support them on future opportunities."
Mark Blower, Partner, Perwyn, said:
"My thanks to the Eversheds Sutherland team for their support throughout this transaction. Their guidance and approach made the process seamless and the team’s understanding of our business - dating back to Perwyn’s initial investment in 2018 – also proved instrumental.”
Looking ahead, Richard Moulton shared his thoughts on the PE market as well as potential trends on the horizon:
“The market remains incredibly active, particularly in comparison to this time last year, with strong appetite across sectors including technology, business services and healthcare. We’re also seeing a continued focus on value creation and operational improvement, which is driving opportunities both buy-side and sell-side.
"We expect deal flow to remain robust, particularly in mid-market transactions. Digital transformation is also becoming increasingly central to investment theses, shaping how deals are structured and executed."
According to a report by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) earlier this year, Eversheds Sutherland’s Corporate Finance capability was ranked ninth globally for the number of announced and completed deals, reaffirming its position as a leading advisor in the M&A sector.
The report highlighted the firm’s involvement in 165 announced transactions worth $23.37 billion and 158 completed deals valued at $17.44 billion. The global firm also ranked 21st for the number of deals completed involving a U.S. company, with 55 deals valued at $8.97 billion, and 25th for deals involving a U.K. company, with 49 deals valued at $7.88 billion.
Since the beginning of this year, the firm has significantly boosted its bench strength across a number of its key practice groups with a swathe of new senior appointments. To date, the firm has welcomed 17 new lateral partner hires across its Continental European offices and 26 lateral partner hires firmwide.