According to Jonathan Boyers, an award-winning dealmaker and Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal, the M&A market is expected to pick up in the UK towards the end of the year. Boyers is optimistic about increasing activity across all sectors, including business services, tech, and healthcare, writing on LinkedIn, “the outlook for M&A activity in the UK is cautiously optimistic (bar any significant geopolitical disruption).” Boyers believes that after a period of subdued deal activity in 2023 and 2024, volumes and values of deals will gradually improve in the second half of 2024. He also sees a renewed confidence in the UK economy, following last week’s general election, with “positive factors contribut[ing] to renewed deals activity.”
Furthermore, many companies have used the last 18 months to refocus and streamline their businesses, and hence we will see an increased number of attractive assets coming into the market, making it a great time to do deals in the UK market. Boyers expects a busy Q4 and the start of 2025 in terms of deals activity, as many companies “are starting to prep for sale over the summer”.
Boyers believes that UK companies are still “good value” acquisitions for international trade buyers, particularly US growth-focused corporate acquirors. He also says “Private equity houses are still sat on record levels of dry powder waiting to deploy in new opportunities beyond the buy and build strategies that dominated the market over the past year.” At the same time, declining interest rates could boost confidence in the debt markets, hence allowing more liquidity for deals.
Boyers thinks that despite some concerns surrounding potential changes to tax rates, a Labour majority would instil confidence to the UK economy, as already seen with the rally in stock prices and the pound edging up. In conclusion, Boyers is optimistic about M&A activity in the UK market for the coming year, with the outlook being cautiously optimistic.
