The number of M&A deals for UK companies has jumped 54 per cent in the past year, from 1,243 in 2019/20 to 1,911 in 2020/21 as the acquisition market for British businesses booms, says Forsters, one of the leading private wealth law firms.
The number of M&A deals for UK companies has jumped 54 per cent in the past year, from 1,243 in 2019/20 to 1,911 in 2020/21 as the acquisition market for British businesses booms, says Forsters, one of the leading private wealth law firms.
Over the same period, the value of M&A deals for UK companies has almost doubled from GBP146 billion in 2019/20 to GBP289 billion in 2020/21.
Forsters says that the M&A market in the UK has been very busy over the last 12 months, with deals made for household names including supermarket group Morrisons, insurer RSA and outsourcer G4S.
However, the number of deals for family-owned businesses has grown at an even faster rate of 59 per cent over the last 12 months. Transactions involving family-owned businesses made up 57 per cent of M&A transactions completed in the UK in the past year (1,093 deals), compared to 55 per cent in the previous year (687 deals). There has been a rush of entrepreneurs seeking to make the most of high levels of interest from both private equity and trade buyers over recent months.
Forsters says in its new report ‘The Entrepreneur’s Exit’ that if entrepreneurs want to take advantage of the high levels of demand in the M&A market, they must make sure they avoid common legal pitfalls that can delay or prevent a deal.
