Despite deal volume declining across the UK, the Midlands ‘significantly outperformed’ other regions according to Experian’s 2023 UK and Ireland (UK&I) M&A Review.
Although the Midlands saw a 7% year-on-year decline in deal numbers, it performed better than other UK regions, which all experienced steeper declines from 2022 to 2023. National deal activity overall declined by 12% during a challenging year for market conditions, however a connection to the Midlands was found in approximately 15% of all UK transactions.
Despite the widespread decline in deal volume, leading advisers PKF rose three ranks to become the 5th most active dealmaking team in the Midlands and a further six places in the national rankings to become the 7th most active in the UK. PKF completed 103 eligible deals, with the Midlands division and mid-market specialists PKF Smith Cooper securing 22 of those deals with a combined value of £277m.
“93% of our transactions involved Midlands businesses, clearly demonstrating that Midlands-based companies remain attractive to investors.” Darren Hodson, Corporate Finance Partner at PKF Smith Cooper
Darren Hodson, Corporate Finance Partner, commented: “In addition to fuelling M&A activity on home soil, we completed a number of cross-border deals, drawing on our global reach and access to international purchasers.
“We are in the midst of ambitious expansion plans for our advisory team and are actively recruiting. We have been growing team numbers to prepare for anticipated increased deal activity in 2024-25 and also seeking to expand our financial due diligence services where we feel there is significant demand for our quality of service.
“We are currently seeing high levels of M&A interest in the technology and renewables sectors and we are optimistic that dealmaking levels in the Midlands and UK will recover from 2023 levels, as uncertainties around inflation, interest rates and political and macro concerns subside, especially with alternate funders and increasing PE activity supporting the market in 2024.”
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