BDO has advised on 189 corporate finance deals across the Midlands and East Anglia in 2021, with BDO in the UK as a whole completing more than 400 corporate finance deals nationwide last year totalling £46 billion.
Regional deals, which were up 70% on transactions in 2020 and accounted for 43% of overall corporate finance transactions across the firm, spanned a wide range of sectors. Healthcare & education was the dominant sector by value and volume across the regions, as well as Technology & Media and Industrial sectors.
Recent high-profile deals include the acquisition of HPCi Media, a B2B publisher, specialising in cosmetics, beauty and health media, by Wolverhampton-based Claverley Group Limited (CGL); the sale of Isys, a best-in-class end-to-end ERP software and services provider to the waste management and food & drink delivery sectors, to The Access Group; the sale of Cargo Marketing Services, a provider of freight services to the UK forwarding industry, to MSL Corporate, the Latin American Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC); and the sale of Julian Bowen Limited, the e-commerce design and fulfilment specialist for home furniture, to Storskogen of Sweden.
In the listed space, BDO acted as reporting accountant for IPOs, including the flotation on AIM of Nottingham-based Microlise, which has valued the telematics and technology specialist at £157 million.
John Stephan, BDO M&A Partner, said: “The regional marketplace has remained very much open for business in 2021, as highly scaleable businesses have continued to pull on the purse strings of eager investors, with private equity funds, in particular, happily pouring funds into attractive sectors. We fully expect this carry on into 2022.”
There has been strong activity across the UK as businesses continue to rethink their ambitions and go for growth. In total, BDO LLP has completed 435 corporate finance deals with a combined value of £46 billion in 2021. Globally, the firm advised on 2,020 deals with a total value of $129bn in 2021.
Roger Buckley, BDO M&A partner, said: “2021 has been a remarkable year for dealmakers and activity has been underpinned by the resilience and ambition of the UK’s entrepreneurial businesses.
“Our private equity experience meant we were well placed as activity in the UK market in 2021 reached levels not seen since before the global financial crisis. We’ve seen exceptional deal values and volumes across sectors including technology and media, which continues to be one of the fastest growing areas of M&A activity for the firm.”
