BDO seals £3.4bn in deals across the region

Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO advised on 69 deals across the Midlands and East of England in 2024, with a total value of £3.4bn.

The transactions covered 10 sectors, with over a third involving international or cross-border elements.

BDO’s M&A, transaction services and tax teams supported 49 buy-side and 20 sell-side deals in the region throughout the year.

Private equity played a role in nearly half of the deals (33 transactions, 48%), while 31 deals (45%) were corporate or trade-related and five were linked to capital markets.

Vinod Patel, a partner in deal advisory and transaction Services said: “It’s fair to say that the economic headwinds have continued to create a difficult trading environment for many regional businesses, but their resilience and ambition translated into sustained deal activity throughout the year.

“While the Autumn Budget has added a layer of pressure for many businesses, what it has done is provided a degree of political and economic certainty, which will only benefit the M&A market in both the Midlands and East of England. Yes, the National Insurance Contribution (NIC) increase will sting for many, undoubtedly impacting cost bases in 2025. For some, this will result in a reduction in headcount, a pause on pay rises and a freeze on recruitment, amongst other things. However, what it’s likely to bring is a greater examination of pricing strategies – by those businesses that can – in response to increased costs.”

Key deals included financial due diligence for HSBC in the take-private and refinancing of transport firm Rotala PLC, the sale of Utopia Tableware to Steelite International and the sale of Torus Technology to KKR-backed IP Group.

BDO also supported Nurture Group’s acquisition of Tivoli Group, its largest to date.

Other notable deals saw BDO providing advisory services for Clifton Packaging’s sale to Italian firm Carton Pack, LDC’s investment in Integrated Doorset Solutions, and CCS Media’s sale to Goldman Sachs-backed Advania.

The firm also helped raise growth funding for PitPat, a pet GPS tracker company.

Derek Neil, BDO partner and head of transaction services said: “In an increasingly complex world, we’re proud to have earned the position of top financial due diligence provider in 2024. We’ve supported our clients to complete 266 transactions, providing financial due diligence on 217 of these. This achievement reflects our clients’ trust in us to help them navigate complex decisions, as well as our talented team’s ability to deliver meaningful insights.”

 

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