M&A activity hits £70bn in South East - Palmers Solicitors

M&A activity hits £70bn in South East

Business mergers and acquisitions in the South East made up more than a third of the value of such deals across the UK in the first half of 2015, according to new figures.

Global information services specialist Experian published its Deal Review League Table for the first six months of 2015 on 25 June, revealing that there were 414 mergers and acquisitions in the region, slightly down on the figure of 418 in the same period of 2014.

The report said: “However, there was a 260 per cent rise in value terms, which increased from £19 billion to £70 billion. The South East was responsible for 14.9 per cent of the total volume of activity in the UK and accounted for 34.8 per cent of the total value.

In the South East, small deals, up to £10 million, rose by five per cent from 86 in 2014 to 90 while mid-market transactions (£10 million-£100 million) rose by 16 per cent, from 70 in the same period of 2014 to 81.

The overall volume of transactions in the UK was 2.9 per cent down on 2014 but the value shot up by 29.6 per cent to £202 billion. Experian added: “The UK’s deal market returned robust figures for the first half of 2015, driven by growth in the small deals sector and rising deal values at the top end of the market. The rise in the overall worth of UK deals was driven by increasing values in the South East and East of England in particular.”

With the mergers and acquisitions environment thriving, business owners and leaders of all sizes considering such transactions will benefit from expert legal advice from the outset.

Palmers can provide commercially-minded advice on all aspects of corporate transactions, including management buyouts, management buy-ins, share buybacks, business and company sales, purchases and mergers, debt funding, equity finance and venture capital. For more information, please visit our website or contact BJ Chong.