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UK M&A Recruitment Review 2022

M&A activity in the recruitment industry reached a 10-year high at the start of 2022 with the industry bolstered by the number of job vacancies growing to a record of 1,172,000 in November 2021, according to the ONS, as 1 in 4 workers plan a job change.

Borne from the pandemic, workers quit their jobs due to post-pandemic burnout, changing priorities and the greater number of opportunities that became available.

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UK & ROI Private Equity Review H1 2019

In the latest report published by Experian regarding UK & ROI deal activity in the first half of 2019, trends have shown that the private equity market has continued to play an active role in M&A activity. While there was an 8% decline in the volume of deals funded by private equity compared to last year, 2018 was a particularly fertile year in the industry and PE houses have still been notably active in the market.

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Here is a summary of private equity trends by region:

 

London

There was a private equity element in around 19% of all London deals, up from 17% in H1 2018.

Private equity In London has been increasingly active so far this year and, at the top end, six of the ten biggest deals of the year to date featured a private equity buyer. This included a consortium comprising Kirkbi (the Danish family investment vehicle that controls Lego), Canadian pension fund CPPIB and private equity house Blackstone, who agreed to acquire Merlin Entertainments, the leisure business behind Madame Tussauds and Legoland.

Elsewhere, satellite communications firm Inmarsat agreed to be acquired by a consortium including Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus in a £2.7bn deal, as well as TDR Capital’s £1.9bn deal to purchase BCA Marketplace, the company behind WeBuyAnyCar.

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Mid-Year Irish M&A Review 2019

The first half of 2019 has been strong for the Irish M&A market, according to William Fry’s Mid-Year M&A Review for 2019 in association with Mergermarket. While overall deal volume has dropped, value is up, while private equity and overseas investments have also been significant.

Findings in the report include:

 

Private equity is a major contributor to Irish M&A – Private equity deal value totalled €1.8bn in the first six months of 2019, a 74% increase from H1 2018, with private equity firms accounting for three quarters of overall deal value in H1 2019. Deal volume has also risen from 19 deals to 21 deals.

Likely contributors to this activity include the fact that Ireland will be the only English-speaking country in the EU once the UK leaves, an attractive prospect for North American companies looking to acquire in the EU. Mature private equity firms are also interested in Irish companies, buoyed by Ireland’s steady GDP growth, as this presents Irish companies as attractive deal targets. As well, with the $1.8tn of dry powder that private equity firms have access to, they are now looking to younger markets like Ireland to deploy this capital.

Interested in private equity investment?

To add to this, the Irish government is making moves to support private equity investment in the country, approving the drafting of the Investment Limited Partnership Bill that aims to make the jurisdiction more attractive to fund managers.

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