2022 annual review
A year in review Building on success 2022 was another strong year for FRP Corporate Finance. Building on a positive 2021, our team supported businesses through changing market conditions and advised on a greater breadth of exciting and significant mandates. In total our team advised on 84 transactions with an aggregate value of £2.9 billion – a 16 per cent increase on the previous year. In 2022, market trends were initially optimistic and then impacted by changing geopolitical and economic headwinds. In the first half of the year, the positive outlook and economic growth prompted a surge of deal activity. In the third quarter, however, there was a general slowdown as businesses reacted to rising inflation and economic instability driven by UK government policy. However, as advisers, our pipeline remained strong throughout, as we supported mid-market businesses at every stage of the corporate lifecycle. In terms of sector activity, we are broadly in line with the rest of the market - we have seen continued activity in healthcare and pharmaceuticals (34 per cent), technology (21.5 per cent), and business services, and in particular tech-enabled business services (18 per cent). Significant transactions for our team in these sectors included supporting Plenitude
on securing new growth capital; advising on the sale of ProspectSoft to The Access Group; and the management buyout of PHL. In 2022 we also saw good deal activity in industrials and manufacturing (13 per cent), which is perhaps indicative of the types of owner-managed businesses we work with in the mid-market. Standout transactions included the sale of Condale Plastics to Lifco, and Kartell’s acquisition of Summerbridge. In the consumer, retail and leisure sector (10.5 per cent) while there was a clear slowdown in the second half of the year, businesses with strong propositions remained attractive. More than half of the deals we supported involved private equity investment, so appetite and access to capital continues to be strong from this segment of the market. There has certainly been a flight to quality this year, with investors typically more discerning about where they deploy their capital. There has also been a greater focus on driving buy-and-build strategies.
Matthew Flower Corporate Finance
Top 5 sectors
34%
Healthcare & pharmaceuticals
21.5%
Technology
18%
Business services
13%
Industrials & manufacturing
2022: a year in review Scan or click QR code to watch video 7
10.5%
Consumer, retail & leisure
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online