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Global consulting firm BDO’s UK wing closed almost £19 billion worth of transactions over 2017, completing 300 deals in the last 12 months. The remarkable haul made up almost half of BDO’s deal value world-wide last year.
The corporate finance team at accountancy and business advisory firm BDO UK has reported a record year in mergers and acquisitions work, completing 300 transactions in 2017 with a combined value of more than £18.5 billion. The bumper year saw both value and volume boosted significantly, with BDO closing 23% more deals than in 2016, with a combined value of 50% more in 2017 than the £12 billion value of 2016’s deals.
The large jump saw the firm’s M&A department hit a 12-year high, or pre-financial-crisis levels of business. Transactions involving private equity also increased by more than 50% from 79 deals (2016) to 120 (2017), with deal flow looking strong for 2018 as Private Equity houses continue to deploy funds in the market.
Across Europe last year, value of M&A deals grew, in line with BDO UK’s results, but the volume in deal activity generally slowed. In the case of continental business, this was attributed to companies focusing their assets on higher-value, higher-quality acquisitions, meaning they valued quality over quantity of deals.
In the UK, however, a drastic depletion of the Pound’s value due to floundering Brexit negotiations meant that for a large portion of the year, overseas investors could have it both ways in the British market. Elsewhere, this saw record levels of investment from Chinese buyers in the London real estate scene, as the variation in currency suddenly decreased the premium they would be asked to pay for property in the region.
Chris Grove, Head of Transaction Services at BDO in the UK, said, “We have had a phenomenal year across our transaction services and M&A businesses. We continue to invest in our team here in the UK and our member firms across the globe are also looking to grow. Despite the apparent political and economic uncertainty, demand for transactions remains high and our clients are pursuing their growth ambitions with vigour.”
Additionally, across BDO’s international network, more than 1,200 transactions with an aggregated value of USD $40 billion were completed in the last year. This constituted a global increase of almost 45%, compared with the 840 deals completed in 2016.
Grove added, “Our global footprint means we can provide clients with the expertise and market intelligence they demand, wherever in the world they are or want to be. Cross border deals will no doubt be a significant theme in our 2018 activity.”
