2022 annual review
Cross-border M&A activity
Reaching international markets
2022 was a broadly positive year for cross-border M&A activity, and our experience at FRP Corporate Finance operating in the mid-market (deals up to £100 million) reflected this: 2022 saw 50 per cent of our disposals go to overseas buyers, compared with 20 per cent in 2021. Following the challenges posed by the pandemic, we relished the opportunity to pick back up with contacts in major international markets – including those that have had greater interest in the UK since Brexit, such as the US. We were pleased to advise on a host of transatlantic deals including the sale of leading parenting network Lifecycle Marketing (Emma’s Diary) to US-based Everyday Health Group Pregnancy & Parenting (EHG P&P), which saw one of the UK’s most popular pregnancy and parenting platforms become part of EHG P&P’s global network of digital platforms and online communities. Alongside this, we also noticed a marked increase in interest in UK businesses from Scandinavian investors. One of the year’s highlight deals was the sale of BTC Activewear – one of the UK’s largest multi-brand distributors of promotional apparel, corporate wear, workwear, team wear and school wear – to Sweden based New Wave Group. However, it’s worth noting that the upper mid-market of deals worth over £100 million experienced fewer transactions. We attribute the cooling of appetite to
a range of headwinds that manifested themselves throughout the second half of the year, including political uncertainty, rising inflation, ongoing supply chain issues and the escalating cost-of-living crisis, all of which combined to bring a much more cautious attitude towards M&A at the upper end. With these trends set to continue into 2023, all eyes will be on the deals market as an indicator of how UK businesses are weathering the storm. Future trends were a key topic of discussion at the recent European conference for the Alliance of International Corporate Advisers (AICA), which took place in October 2022 in Barcelona. Consisting of a global network of mid- market M&A advisory firms, AICA comprises more than 250 experienced professionals and 41 member firms across 39 countries. After years of lockdown regulations, it was a pleasure to meet up with fellow industry professionals to discuss the sector landscape and take stock of the current market situation. Next year, we are welcoming our fellow AICA members to London for the annual conference, which will see up to 80 corporate finance professionals attend. The network has grown significantly over the past 10 years, and we’re looking forward to continuing to build on this growth in the years to come, and to see this manifest itself in even more cross-border deals.
Simon Davies Corporate Finance
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