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Buying British: An analysis of UK exits (2015-2019)

We are delighted that Rooney Nimmo and 24Haymarket have allowed us to reproduce a recent report they jointly published, entitled An analysis of UK exits (2015-2019), which provides a granular analysis by sector of the activity in our dynamic private companies world.

Key findings
Brexit bounce – COVID bounce? In 2016, Brexit occurred, and yet the data shows no significant variance in deal volumes post 2016, with the only consistent year of decreases, across the board, happening in 2018. In fact, across the baskets, there were year-on-year increases in deal volume, achieving £250 million-£5,000 million enterprise values (EVs) in 2018-2019.
Companies buy companies: Among the companies that make up this report, 773 were bought by other trading companies – representing 63% of the total.
British businesses are most likely acquired by British businesses: Of the sample involving British companies or companies with significant UK exposure, statistically, the acquirer was from the UK, followed by the US, France, Canada and China.
80% of companies sold below an EV of £500m: Of the companies that make up the sample, the number of deal values that exceeded £500 million was 240, which is 20%.
TMT is the most active sector: Unsurprisingly, TMT was the most active sector in the sample. Its 218 exits meant it was comfortably ahead of the second most-active sector (Industrials – 120).