A BOLTON company says that it has been ranked eight in the world for deals completed in the first nine months of the year.

The accolade went to finance broker Hilton Smyth Group, based on Wood Street in Bolton town centre, which was also ranked fifth in Europe and third in the UK after securing almost 200 deals in 2021.

This marks an improvement on last last year, in which the Bolton firm ranked 15th in the world, and managed to climb seven spaces in the chart thanks to 117 additional sales compared to 2020.

Hilton Smythe Group CEO Gareth Smyth said: "We are delighted that our team has been recognised for the hard work it has done this year, with an exemplary number of deals in the national market.

"Everyone has been working incredibly hard, both in the office and remotely, and the results speak for themselves.

"Seeing a year-to-date increase between last year and this year of 143 per cent has been a fantastic success and has clearly contributed to us making it into the top 10 with some of the biggest financial firms in the world.

The ranking was made by the Global Small-Cap M&A review from REFINITIV, a British-American financial markets data and information company.

To compile the list, the report looked at financial deals made between 1 January and 30 September.

Other companies to feature in the top 10 include nationally known firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young.

Having been recognised amongst such high profile peers, the Bolton firm is now focusing on its plans for the future.

Mr Smythe said: "We’re not resting on our laurels though, and we’re already on track to meet, or even exceed, the number of deals we’ve made in the next quarter, which is amazing.

"We could even climb a bit higher in the world rankings.

"I hope this will lead to better economic news nationally in the near future."