The market remains buoyant

The North West M&A market was consistently busy throughout 2021 despite the ongoing pandemic.

Numerous factors have encouraged further activity such as the threat of changes to the present tax regime specifically relating to entrepreneurs’ relief.

However, despite those extraneous factors, it has been clear that there is consistent and exciting activity in the deals market.

As we approached the end of 2021 the market became increasingly buoyant, leading to the expectation of a strong start to 2022.

In terms of sectors, the North West has seen plentiful activity in manufacturing, tech and digital and retail, with no real changes to that expected in 2022.

Some of those sectors worse hit by the pandemic and the unfortunate rise in concern due to the Omicron variant may mean a rise in M&A activity in those sectors, as opportunistic buyers seek out potential acquisitions. We may of course start to see a rise in insolvent transactions within these fields.

Funding for M&A activity in the region is plentiful too. with lots of lenders willing to fund acquisitions, specifically those within the Asset Based Lending (ABL) sector.

Private Equity (PE) houses are also prevalent in the region with more and more North West based businesses looking to PE houses as an exciting option to consider when reviewing an exit.

The mid-market is seeing the most activity as acquisitions by bigger players facilitate growth.

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