Dutch M&A consultancy Marktlink launches in the UK
Within three months of expanding into the Nordics, Dutch M&A consultancy Marktlink has landed in the UK. The new locale in Manchester is Marktlink’s ninth office, globally.
2021 was Marktlink’s 25th year in business – and with a sustained M&A boom buoying business through the year, the firm sensed the time was right to expand its global footprint. Advising entrepreneurs and SMEs on acquisition processes, it represents both buyers and sellers. While the majority of transactions have historically taken place in the Benelux, recently there has been significant expansion in Germany and Scandinavia.
Aiming to capitalise on strong deal fundamentals, the firm launched its second presence outside the Benelux region in November, with a new office in Denmark. Just three months later – and with the global M&A feeding frenzy showing no signs of slowing – Marktlink has followed that up by entering another new market.
Speaking on the milestone, Tim van der Meer, Managing Partner at Marktlink Netherlands, said, “The establishment of the Manchester HQ is a significant milestone for Marktlink and marks a real opportunity for our business to serve the thriving UK M&A market. The acquisition or sale of a company is one of the most important moments in an entrepreneur’s career. By opening our first UK office, we not only give business owners access to an even bigger buyer and sellers’ market, but also to the experience gained in more than 120 deals annually closed by our 40 deal teams throughout Europe.”
The new Manchester office is the first Marktlink presence in Britain, and the firm’s ninth office overall. Serving as a springboard for opening several offices in the region in the coming years, the initial locale will be led by newly appointed UK Managing Partner Jonathon Parkinson.
Transactions supported by Marktlink currently range from €5 million to €150 million in enterprise value, and number more than 120 annually – while the firm boasts a 95% deal success rate. Marktlink is not content to stop there, though, and intends to be operational in ten different European markets by 2025 – helping it to expand its number of deals to 150.
With regards to helping meet those goals from the UK, Parkinson stated, “We are already working on a number of deals here in the UK where there is significant appetite from major European corporates in the Marktlink network to acquire UK businesses. We are building our UK team immediately as we develop our organic deals pipeline over the coming months. Our aim is to complete five to 10 deals with £2 million to £100 million revenue level organisations by the end of the year and to recruit ahead of demand with up to half a dozen people in position within the launch phase.”
