Commenting on the Office for National Statistics M&A figures for April to June 2024 released today:
Lucy Stapleton, Global Head of Deals at PwC UK, said:
“The UK M&A activity for Q2 2024, reflects the cautious confidence in the current deals market. Macroeconomic conditions continue to stabilise which make the conditions for deals more favourable, especially compared to where the market was at this point last year. So far, we have seen market activity dominated predominantly by corporates who have capital and are chasing growth.
“There remains significant pent up demand to do deals, however, and a stand-off persists: sellers are holding out for prices they consider optimal, while buyers are waiting for greater certainty before committing to transactions.
“Looking ahead to the remainder of the year we expect confidence to continue growing in the market with UK elections now concluded, economic conditions continuing to improve and with a reduction in the Bank of England base rate last month helping to stimulate conditions for dealmakers. Businesses will need to be agile to opportunities and shift their view of M&A from transactional to transformational to unlock growth and value potential in their organisations.”
Ends
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