DEALS valued at more than £50 million have been completed by York-based accountants and business advice firm JWPCreers in its first 12 months of trading.

And there are an estimated £30 million-worth of deals in the pipeline.

The completed transactions, involving businesses throughout the north, include mergers, acquisitions, management buyouts, exits, disposals and development fundings.

They were advised upon by the corporate finance team at JWPCreers, which was founded in April 2006 with a merger between Selby-based JW Pickles & Co and Creers, York.

Among the major deals led by partner and head of corporate finance, Tony Farmer, were the sale of the entire share capital of Smith Brothers, York; the acquisition of five poultry farms from Sullivans Poultry Group by Ebco (Holdings) Ltd, Bilbrough; York-based Shouksmith Group's acquisition of Keda Plumbing Ltd, Lancashire; and the acquisition of family-run construction company Robinson & Sawdon, Hull, by its new managing director.

More recently it has just completed the management buyout of a Beverley-based advertising and marketing business JWPCreers, which launched a York office in Foss Place, off Foss Islands Road, last June, as a base for all former Creers staff, also has an office in Park Street, Selby.

The new firm's corporate finance team has also advised many major lending institutions.

John Latimer, senior partner, said: "We are very pleased with the impact which the firm has had in this region in the first year, as demonstrated by the levels of deals handled by the corporate finance team, and the flow of new work into all other areas of the practice. It has exceeded our expectations."

The first 12 months also saw JWPCreers increase its total staff by nine, to 65.

Mr Farmer said: "Corporate finance activity is still very busy as we enter our second year since the merger.

"We currently have deals in the pipeline with a transaction value of about £30 million.

"This is because we are becoming well-known as offering a new alternative in the local professional services market, and because business people are generally cautiously optimistic about their sector, including those in rural areas."