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.
The Debt Collection industry’s M&A environment has rebounded somewhat in the latter half of 2019 as Brexit fears begin to subside. Debt management and recovery firms lead M&A activity.
M&A activity in the Software sector increased in comparison to the previous two quarters, totalling 191 deals, a significant increase over the 153 deals in the previous two quarters.
M&A activity in the Transport and Logistics sector has shown significant signs of growth in H1 2019, with 47 deals completed involving UK target companies.
