Industrials deal volumes in the UK decreased by almost 40% in H1 2020 compared to H2 2019. The optimism created by the election of a majority government in December 2019 rapidly deteriorated as the global pandemic took grip towards the end of the first quarter.
While the ICT Services Sector has proved more resilient than other verticals in the face of Covid-19, there still exists a number of challenges for IT Services companies to tackle, as restrictions imposed by the government continue to waver and affect the ability of businesses to operate on a normal basis.
M&A activity in the food and beverage sector has fallen slightly in comparison to H2 2019, with 64 deals completed involving UK target companies.
Over the last two quarters, M&A activity increased in comparison to the previous two quarters, totaling 198 deals, a slight increase over the 191 deals in the previous two quarters.
Looking back on 2019, despite the uncertainty generated by Brexit and IR35, the recruitment industry grew to £38.9bn, comprising temporary & Contract revenues of £33.4bn and permanent revenues of £5.5bn.
The second half of 2019 saw 85 deals completed in the ICT services sector with over half in the System Integration Service space. This is significantly lower than the 112 deals completed in the first half of the year.
M&A activity in the food and beverage sector saw an uptick in H2 2019, with this trend expected to continue into H1 2020 on the back of some Brexit certainty and an overall increase in business confidence.
M&A activity in the Transport and Logistics sector remained consistent in H2 2019, with 46 deals completed involving UK target companies.
