Deals market buoyant after bumper year of activity

EY’s Yorkshire and North East transaction services team acted on deals totaling more than £4bn in 2020.

The team acted on 21 completed deals in 2020, with highlights including listed chemical business Croda’s acquisition of Spanish fragrance manufacturer Iberchem in November and the initial public offering (IPO) of IT security and cloud business Bytes Technology Group in December.

The volume of activity across the technology sector was notable, including Team 17’s acquisition of Yippee Entertainment and MTG’s acquisition of Hutch Games – both gaming industry deals led by Ben Coggin, strategy and transactions director in EY’s Leeds office and transactions technology sector lead across Yorkshire and the North East.

Coggin said: “The gaming industry remains fragmented and, with new entrants joining the market, M&A activity is increasing as corporates look to maintain market share and secure skills in an increasingly competitive talent pool. The sector is also attracting the attention of private equity as an increasingly rich gaming ecosystem offers opportunities to develop new revenue channels.”

The level of activity doesn’t appear to have slowed yet, with EY having already supported on three deals which have been announced since the start of 2021, including the LDC-backed merger of Lomond Capital with Harrogate-headquartered Linley & Simpson to create a national lettings and estate agency group.

Mark Allcroft strategy and transactions partner for EY across Yorkshire and the North East, who joined the firm three years ago to build the transaction services team added: “Looking to the year ahead, I expect the deal volumes to remain high, despite the ongoing uncertainty presented by the pandemic.”