United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review - Experian Business Research: Q1 2021 MarketIQ
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MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review Experian Business Research: Q1 2021
Global M&A had one of its strongest ever starts to the year, with transactions worth upwards of £1tn inked in a bumper first quarter. If the UK market was a little less frenzied, deal makers here still enjoyed a strong start to 2021, building on the recovery that began in the second half of last year. The success of the vaccine roll-out and a rapidly improving economic forecast mean that business confidence is high, with advisory firms reporting bulging pipelines across a range of sectors - along with a real appetite for deal making. As the UK continues to open up and pent up demand in some of the sectors worse hit by the pandemic translates into deal activity, the outlook for the rest of the year looks positive. Jane Turner Research Manager, Experian MarketIQ
Contents
United Kingdom M&A Activity 2
London 12
South East 16
South West 20
East of England 24
Midlands 28
Yorkshire and Humber 32
North West 36
North East 40
Wales 44
Scotland 48
Northern Ireland 52
Republic of Ireland 56
Appendix 60
Deal Proforma 61
About Experian MarketIQ 62
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 1United Kingdom M&A activity
In a robust start to the year, quarterly transaction volume is now some 52% higher than during the
Covid-hit middle part of 2020. In all, Experian recorded 1,712 deals involving a UK business in the first
quarter of 2021 and, although this did represent a small decline on the 1,794 transactions carried
out in Q1 2020, it builds on Q4’s total and sits much more in line with the kind of quarterly volume we
had come to expect pre-pandemic. It was the busiest quarter for IPOs in some time, with 24 debuts
on the London markets – some more successful than others – and there was a 39% increase in the
number of management and employee buy-outs, buoyed by increasing market confidence. Cross
border deal making is increasingly prominent and valuations remain high, with an upturn in the
number of large and very large transactions boosting the Q1 total to £87bn – up 26% on a year on
year basis.
Headline Deals up from £5.5bn in Q1 2020 – with GW Pharmaceuticals,
The biggest transaction of the year to date saw National Gamesys Group, Cobham Mission Systems and Kymab
Grid agree to acquire Western Power Distribution’s Group all acquired this quarter in £1bn plus transactions.
holding company PPL WPD Investments in a deal worth Meanwhile, in Q1’s largest outbound deal, London-based
£14.2bn including debt, simultaneously announcing the spread betting firm IG Global agreed to acquire US online
sale of its US subsidiary Narragansett Electric Company brokerage platform tastytrade for around £730m. Finally,
for £2.7bn. The acquisition is part of National Grid’s while the SPAC craze that has dominated headlines in
strategy to move towards electricity and away from gas, the US has yet to reach similar heights on this side of the
with the group also confirming plans to begin a sales Atlantic, used car sales platform Cazoo agreed to merge
process for the UK national gas transmission system with blank cheque company Ajax 1 towards the end of the
later in the year. Inward investment drove activity at quarter in the UK’s biggest example of this deal type so
the top end of the market, with UK assets continuing to far - gaining a New York listing and raising new capital of
prove attractive to overseas investors. British firms were around £1.2bn in the process.
targeted in deals with a disclosed value of over £14bn –
UK deals
Q1 2017 - Q1 2021
2500 160000
140000
2000
120000
100000
1500
80000
1000
60000
40000
500
20000
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of Deals Value (£M)
Page 2 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewIndustry There was an increase in the number of publicly-traded
Infocomms is still the UK’s busiest sector for deal activity, companies paying for acquisitions, in whole or in part,
accounting for around a quarter of all transactions in shares, while debt conditions remain favourable;
in the first quarter - although last year’s explosion Shawbrook provided funding in support of 13 transactions
in technology deals means that activity receded to top our debt rankings for the first time, followed by
somewhat in comparison. Fintech and cyber security Santander and HSBC, each on 11.
looked to be among the key drivers of deal activity. The
professional services sector was next most active with Advisers
416 transactions and, along with wholesale and retail Gateley narrowly retained last year’s ranking as the UK’s
and mining, was one of only a small number of industries leading legal adviser to the M&A market by deal volume,
to see deal volume increase on Q1 2020’s figures. working on 58 transactions in the first quarter of the
Meanwhile, deals in the property and healthcare sectors year. Harrison Clark Rickerbys advised on 57 qualifying
were down by 36% and 34%, respectively. deals in second place, with Addleshaw Goddard (44 deals)
completing the top three. Ashurst had a role in five of
Funding the UK’s top ten largest transactions to lead the value
Private equity continues to play a prominent role in the UK table, working on deals with a combined consideration
deal landscape, funding around a fifth of the total number of £25.6bn. Meanwhile BDO provided advice on 70 deals
of transactions, although a fall in the number of smaller, in the first quarter to take first position in our financial
early-stage investments meant that PE-backed deals volume table and Goldman Sachs topped the value side
were down around 14% year on year. Notable first quarter with £30.6bn worth of deals.
transactions included Silver Lake’s £3bn investment into
EQT-backed petcare consolidation vehicle Independent
Vetcare and Waterland Private Equity’s £1bn buy-out of
specialist hospitals group Priory, while BGF, Future Fund
and LDC were the UK’s most active investment firms in
volume terms.
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 3United Kingdom M&A activity
Top ten deals: UK
Q1 2021
Date Consideration Deal type Target Bidder
(£m)
18/03/2021 14,200 Acquisition PPL WPD Investments National Grid Plc, London
Ltd, Bristol
03/02/2021 5,274 Acquisition GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc,
Cambridge Dublin
08/02/2021 4,300 Acquisition Dialog Semiconductor Plc, Renesas Electronics Corp,
London Japan
05/02/2021 3,449 IBO Signature Aviation Plc, Brown Bidco Ltd, London
London
23/02/2021 3,200 Acquisition Aviva France (from Aviva Aema Groupe, France
Plc, London)
10/02/2021 3,067 Minority Stake Independent Vetcare Silver Lake
Holdings Ltd, Bristol
18/03/2021 2,724 Acquisition Narragansett Electric PPL Corp, USA
Company, USA (from
National Grid Plc, London)
24/02/2021 2,406 IPO Vantage Towers AG,
Germany (owned by
Vodafone Group Plc,
Newbury)
05/03/2021 2,322 IBO Aggreko Plc, Glasgow Albion Acquisitions Ltd,
London
26/03/2021 2,138 Acquisition Aviva Poland (from Aviva Allianz AG, Germany
Plc, London)
UK deal volume by region
Q1 2021
78
52 54
l London l North East
92 l South East l Wales
609 l South West l Scotland
233 l East of England l Northern Ireland
l Midlands
184 l Yorkshire & Humber
l North West
303
262
161 181
Page 4 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewUnited Kingdom M&A activity
UK and Ireland M&A by region
Q1 2021
Value (£m) Volume
Region Q1 2021 Q1 2020 % Change Q1 2021 Q1 2020 % Change
London 57,052 46,993 21.41% 609 688 -11.48%
South East 10,344 4,525 128.60% 303 301 0.66%
South West 21,013 5,172 306.28% 181 148 22.30%
East of England 7,589 9,007 -15.74% 161 182 -11.54%
Midlands 2,783 1,944 43.16% 262 278 -5.76%
Yorkshire & Humber 1,438 761 88.96% 184 169 8.88%
North West 4,299 2,047 110.01% 233 221 5.43%
North East 1,047 298 251.34% 92 103 -10.68%
Wales 142 67 111.94% 52 57 -8.77%
Scotland 4,155 791 425.28% 78 81 -3.70%
Northern Ireland 71 148 -52.03% 54 34 58.82%
Republic of Ireland 50,557 24,686 104.80% 105 132 -20.45%
United Kingdom 86,689 68,834 25.94% 1,712 1,794 -4.57%
UK deals by Industry
Q1 2021
Q1 2021 Q1 2020 % change from Q1 2020
Sector Volume Value (£m) Volume Value (£m) Volume Value
Infocomms 424 11,707 473 16,393 -10.36% -28.58%
Professional services 416 17,334 413 30,026 0.73% -42.27%
Manufacturing 380 19,646 391 17,670 -2.81% 11.18%
Wholesale and retail 306 16,447 299 11,813 2.34% 39.22%
Financial services 292 18,746 326 40,080 -10.43% -53.23%
Support services 201 6,244 220 1,966 -8.64% 217.55%
Construction 125 1,050 139 2,514 -10.07% -58.24%
Real estate 78 2,273 122 10,380 -36.07% -78.10%
Health 75 1,248 114 247 -34.21% 405.52%
Mining and quarrying 58 2,382 47 2,469 23.40% -3.52%
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 5United Kingdom M&A activity
Legal adviser rankings by volume
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Volume1
1 1 GATELEY 58
2 2 HARRISON CLARK RICKERBYS 57
3 7 ADDLESHAW GODDARD 44
4 10 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 42
5 8 SHOOSMITHS 31
6 4 MILLS & REEVE 31
7 9 WARD HADAWAY 30
8 13 EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND 28
9 14 DWF 26
10 - TUGHANS 26
11 11 FREETHS 23
12 6 KNIGHTS 22
13 - SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU 21
14 26 OSBORNE CLARKE 21
15 23 BROWNE JACOBSON 21
16 29 TLT 20
17 16 MUCKLE 19
18 - SCHOFIELD SWEENEY 19
19 5 CMS 18
20 - GOWLING WLG 18
Page 6 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewUnited Kingdom M&A activity
Legal adviser rankings by value
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Value (£m)
1 - ASHURST 25,563
2 6 SKADDEN ARPS SLATE MEAGHER & FLOM 25,009
3 - CRAVATH SWAINE & MOORE 22,399
4 15 HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS 17,275
5 14 SLAUGHTER AND MAY 11,047
6 - LINKLATERS 9,043
7 10 KIRKLAND & ELLIS 7,616
8 16 MACFARLANES 7,096
9 18 A&L GOODBODY 5,274
10 - FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER 4,693
11 - DICKSON MINTO 2,322
12 1 LATHAM & WATKINS 2,017
13 13 NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT 1,511
14 - SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU 1,374
15 - GOODWIN 1,200
16 11 JONES DAY 1,144
17 17 ADDLESHAW GODDARD 1,017
18 - WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGHER 821
19 40 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 715
20 20 DLA PIPER 621
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 7United Kingdom M&A activity
Financial adviser rankings by volume
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Volume1
1 4 BDO 70
2 2 K3 CAPITAL GROUP 66
3 3 RSM 53
4 - AZETS 35
5 10 KPMG 31
6 1 GRANT THORNTON 26
7 14 PKF FRANCIS CLARK 26
8 8 NUMIS SECURITIES 25
9 9 PWC 25
10 - JEFFERIES 24
11 - JP MORGAN 23
12 24 ALANTRA 21
13 16 FINNCAP 21
14 22 DOW SCHOFIELD WATTS 20
15 - MAZARS 20
16 HAZLEWOODS 19
17 5 BENCHMARK INTERNATIONAL 19
18 - PEEL HUNT 18
19 11 CENKOS SECURITIES 18
20 26 GOLDMAN SACHS 15
Page 8 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewUnited Kingdom M&A activity
Financial adviser rankings by value
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Value (£m)
1 1 GOLDMAN SACHS 30,578
2 7 JP MORGAN 19,387
3 4 BARCLAYS 18,459
4 34 JEFFERIES 16,139
5 8 NUMIS SECURITIES 10,682
6 2 MORGAN STANLEY 9,709
7 13 DEUTSCHE BANK 6,800
8 5 BANK OF AMERICA 6,072
9 - UBS 5,856
10 - GUGGENHEIM SECURITIES 5,799
11 12 RBC CAPITAL MARKETS 3,613
12 6 CITIGROUP 3,507
13 20 HSBC 2,827
14 17 BNP PARIBAS 2,706
15 - JOHANNES BERENBERG & GOSSLER 2,371
16 15 LAZARD 1,885
17 32 PEEL HUNT 1,236
18 24 CANACCORD GENUITY 939
19 19 FENCHURCH ADVISORY PARTNERS 874
20 - INVESTEC 800
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 9United Kingdom M&A activity
Debt provider rankings by volume
Current rank Previous rank Debt provider Volume1
1 6 SHAWBROOK BANK 13
2 13 SANTANDER 11
3 1 HSBC 11
4 7 CAPLE 8
5 - GROWTH LENDING 2020 7
6 12 THINCATS 6
7 - TRIPLE POINT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT 5
8 3 BARCLAYS 3
9 20 CLYDESDALE AND YORKSHIRE BANK 4
10 - BOOST & CO 3
11 - BANK OF AMERICA 2
12 - ARBUTHNOT 2
13 2 NATWEST 2
14 5 LLOYDS BANKING GROUP 2
14 - SHARD CREDIT PARTNERS 2
16 - DANSKE BANK 2
17 - JP MORGAN 1
18 18 DEUTSCHE BANK 1
18 16 GOLDMAN SACHS 1
20 - CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE 1
Page 10 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewUnited Kingdom M&A activity
Capital provider rankings by volume
Current rank Previous rank Investment firm Volume1
1 2 BUSINESS GROWTH FUND 24
2 - FUTURE FUND 11
3 5 LDC 10
4 - INVEST NORTHERN IRELAND 8
5 1 MAVEN CAPITAL PARTNERS 7
6 23 TECHSTART VENTURES 6
7 12 DEVELOPMENT BANK OF WALES 6
8 4 FORESIGHT GROUP 6
9 - INFLEXION PRIVATE EQUITY 6
10 35 INDEX VENTURES 5
11 - LIGHTSPEED VENTURE PARTNERS 5
12 - GV 5
13 - HIG CAPITAL 4
14 26 TA ASSOCIATES 4
15 - OXFORD SCIENCES INNOVATION 4
16 - GENERAL CATALYST PARTNERS 4
17 - EPISODE 1 VENTURES 4
18 32 IQ CAPITAL PARTNERS 4
19 - BLACKSTONE GROUP 3
20 - TDR CAPITAL 3
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 11London
Summary Elsewhere, there were 11 deals in which London-based
Deal making in the capital so far this year has continued Plcs agreed to be taken private from the Stock Exchange.
on a welcome upward trend from the depressed level These often stemmed from private equity - most notably
of activity we saw in the middle part of 2020, albeit still a Blackstone-led consortium’s £3.4bn deal to acquire
lagging somewhat behind the typical quarterly volumes multinational airline services company Signature Aviation
recorded prior to the onset of the pandemic. The first - and from overseas investment, including Japanese
quarter’s total of 609 is down by around 11.5% on a year electronics business Renesas’ £4.3bn acquisition of chip
on year basis - a decline in the number of smaller, sub manufacturer Dialog and US casino operator Bally’s
£10m deals particularly apparent – but still sits almost Corp’s £2bn purchase of online gambling firm Gamesys –
30% above the 473 transactions announced in Q2 2020. this the latest in a series of large deals as operators jostle
Meanwhile, an upturn in activity at the top end of the to capitalise on the US’s recently relaxed rules around
market, with the number of ‘mega’ £1bn-plus acquisitions sports betting.
up to 13 - from just four in the first quarter of 2020 - and
a 17% rise in the number of larger deals, meant that the Industry
total value of London M&A topped £57bn, a 21% year on London’s infocomms sector was its leading source of deal
year increase. London companies were involved in 36% of activity in Q1, with 197 transactions in total accounting for
all UK deals in Q1, while contributing 63% of their around a third of all volume. Financial services was next
total value. most active with 162 deals and was the capital’s most
valuable industry segment, boosted by several high-value
Headline Deals deals including a series of major disposals by insurance
In a deal that shakes up the energy supply sector, group Aviva, which raised around £6.2bn in total from
National Grid, the system operator of the UK’s electricity the sale of European operations this quarter. While most
and gas supply network, agreed to acquire PPL WPD sectors saw activity down slightly in volume terms when
Investments, the holding company for Western Power compared with the first quarter of 2020, wholesale
Distribution, in a deal with an enterprise value of around and retail stood out with an 8% increase year on year;
£14.2bn (including assumed debt). National Grid is aiming there was also robust growth in the number of mining,
to pivot its operations strategically away from gas and education and utilities deals.
towards electricity and also agreed the £2.7bn sale of
Narragansett Electric, its US gas and electricity operation,
to Western Power vendor PPL Corp, a US power company.
London deals
Q1 2017 – Q1 2021
90000
900
80000
800
70000
700
600 60000
500 50000
400 40000
300 30000
200 20000
100 10000
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of Deals Value (£M)
Page 12 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewLondon
Funding Advisers
There was a small increase in the number of investor Gateley was the most active law firm in the capital
buy-outs of London firms in Q1 (23, up from 21 announced by deal volume in the first quarter, with a role on 19 -
in Q1 2020), set against a 36% year on year decline in the predominantly small to mid-market - transactions in all.
number of private equity investments overall. Business Squire Patton Boggs was close behind with 16 qualifying
Growth Fund, Future Fund and Lightspeed were the most deals, with Harrison Clark Rickerbys making up the top
active investment firms in the capital, with four deals three with 13. Ashurst advised on each of London’s top
apiece. Meanwhile Shawbrook Bank was the leading debt three deals of the year to head the value table with a
provider, funding four deals, with Santander, Growth combined total of £25bn. Elsewhere, Numis, BDO and RSM
Lending, Barclays and Triple Point also active in the each worked on 18 qualifying deals to lead the financial
market, each providing new debt in support of volume rankings, while Goldman Sachs’ £18bn worth
two deals. of deals was enough to top the value table ahead of JP
Morgan and Barclays.
Top ten deals: London
Q1 2021
Date Consideration Deal type Target Bidder
(£m)
18/03/2021 14,200 Acquisition PPL WPD Investments Ltd, USA National Grid Plc, London
08/02/2021 4,300 Acquisition Dialog Semiconductor Plc, Renesas Electronics Corp,
London Japan
05/02/2021 3,449 IBO Signature Aviation Plc, London Brown Bidco Ltd, London
23/02/2021 3,200 Acquisition Aviva France (from Aviva Plc, Aema Groupe, France
London)
18/03/2021 2,724 Acquisition Narragansett Electric Company, PPL Corp, USA
USA (from National Grid Plc,
London)
26/03/2021 2,138 Acquisition Aviva Poland (from Aviva Plc, Allianz AG, Germany
London)
05/03/2021 2,322 IBO Aggreko Plc, Glasgow Albion Acquisitions Ltd,
London
24/03/2021 2,072 Acquisition Gamesys Group Plc, London Bally's Corp, USA
15/03/2021 1,500 IPO Deliveroo Holdings Plc, London
19/03/2021 1,125 Share Natwest Group Plc, Edinburgh
Buy-Back (from UK Government
Investments Ltd, London)
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 13London
Legal adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Volume1
1 2 GATELEY 19
2 3 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 16
3 10 HARRISON CLARK RICKERBYS 13
4 13 ADDLESHAW GODDARD 12
5 - OSBORNE CLARKE 10
6 22 DWF 10
7 - ASHURST 9
8 26 TRAVERS SMITH 9
9 14 MILLS & REEVE 7
10 6 MACFARLANES 8
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Value (£m)
1 - ASHURST 25,217
2 - SKADDEN ARPS SLATE MEAGHER & FLOM 12,847
3 15 HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS 10,675
4 - CRAVATH SWAINE & MOORE 10,525
5 - LINKLATERS 7,748
6 8 KIRKLAND & ELLIS 7,060
7 - SLAUGHTER AND MAY 5,773
8 - CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & HAMILTON 3,449
9 6 FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER 3,398
10 12 SHEARMAN & STERLING 2,885
Page 14 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewLondon
Financial adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Volume1
1 12 NUMIS SECURITIES 18
2 5 BDO 18
3 1 RSM 18
4 - JEFFERIES 16
5 - K3 CAPITAL GROUP 14
6 - JP MORGAN 12
7 7 CENKOS SECURITIES 11
8 - STIFEL/KBW 10
9 2 GRANT THORNTON 10
10 8 SP ANGEL CORPORATE FINANCE 10
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Value (£m)
1 1 GOLDMAN SACHS 17,605
2 26 JP MORGAN 14,751
3 - BARCLAYS 14,358
4 - ROBEY WARSHAW 10,525
5 - JEFFERIES 9,878
6 15 NUMIS SECURITIES 7,204
7 2 MORGAN STANLEY 4,908
8 - DEUTSCHE BANK 4,394
9 13 RBC CAPITAL MARKETS 3,613
10 - UBS 3,449
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 15South East
Summary Headline Deals
As the strict Covid prevention measures are slowly lifted, The region’s two mega deals were both announced
deal activity is nearing the levels the region enjoyed in February. Reading-based Dialog Semiconductor
pre-pandemic and the South East saw 2021 start on accepted an offer from Japan-based Renesas Electronics
a positive note. Since the start of lockdown in 2021, Corp, which valued the company at £4.3bn. More than
the region has seen M&A activity increase steadily for 70% of Dialog’s sales come from its exclusive supplier
the last three quarters, with Q1 2021 recording 302 agreement with Apple, and this deal combines the
deals. This was up one from the same period of 2020 companies’ technological assets to scale Renesas’ IoT
and represents a significant bounce back from the 160 sector capabilities. In the telecoms sector, Vodafone
transactions recorded during the second quarter of 2020 announced the IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange of
as the pandemic hit. Meanwhile, deal values increased its tower infrastructure unit, Vantage Towers. The base
significantly, from £4.5bn in Q1 2020 to £10.3bn in the first offer is expected to raise proceeds of €2bn. January saw
three months of this year. Outside of London, the South the acquisition of Oxford Immunotec Global by US-based
East was the most active region, proving the appetite for PerkinElmer for £435m in a deal which sees PerkinElmer
deal making has not diminished as a result of the global add Oxford Immunotec’s leading product, the T-SPOT®.TB
crisis. The mid-market saw a 25% increase in activity, test, used for diagnosing infection with Tuberculosis, to its
with large cap deals on a par with Q1 2020. Small-cap portfolio.
deals struggled to hit pre-Covid levels, with the 39 deals
announced in Q1 2021 being 26% fewer than in the first Industry
three months of 2020. Valuations were also strong across Infocomms was again the most active industry sector for
the mid-market, large cap and mega deal segments, deal activity in the South East, recording 89 deals, around
with small cap valuations falling by 25%. The South East 6% more than in Q1 2020. Valuations rose significantly,
accounted for 12% of all UK deal values and 18% of deal from £2.7bn in Q1 2020, to £4.5bn in this reporting period.
volumes. Activity in the professional services sector remained
stable, with the 78 deals recorded this year just one
fewer than last year. Deal values, however, were up 23%
Quarter on Quarter. Manufacturing was the third most
active sector, with the 66 deals recorded down 12% on
the previous year. In a similar trend, valuations were up
massively from £1.7bn to £5.6bn.
South East deals
Q1 2017 – Q1 2021
350 25000
280 20000
210 15000
140 10000
70 5000
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of Deals Value (£M)
Page 16 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewSouth East
Funding Advisers
Private equity backed deals were up to just over 20% of Shoosmiths achieved first position in the legal advisers
deals where funding arrangements were disclosed, from table, having worked on a total of 19 deals in the region,
19% in the same period last year. Most active investor with the 15 deals advised on by Harrison Clark Rickerbys
was Business Growth Fund, followed by Oxford Sciences securing second place. Addleshaw Goddard and Knights
Innovation and LDC. Approximately 53% of deals were jointly finished the quarter in third position, with ten
funded from existing resources, and debt-funded deals deals apiece. Covington & Burling achieved pole position
accounted for 6.6%. Shawbrook Bank was the lender of in the value tables, with Ashurst in second place and
choice, providing funding to support on five transactions, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in third. RSM was the most active
followed by HSBC on four and Santander on two. financial adviser, with 19 deals advised on, with K3 Capital
in second place on 14 deals. Third position was taken by
BDO with 12 deals. JP Morgan topped the value rankings,
with Barclays in second place. The remainder of the top
ten was rounded out by the numerous firms appointed to
advise on the Vantage Towers IPO.
Top ten deals: South East
Q1 2021
Date Consideration Deal type Target Bidder
(£m)
08/02/2021 4,300 Acquisition Dialog Semiconductor Plc, Renesas Electronics Corp,
Reading Japan
24/02/2021 2,406 IPO Vantage Towers AG
(owned by Vodafone Plc,
Newbury)
07/01/2021 435 Acquisition Oxford Immunotec Global PerkinElmer Inc, USA
Plc, Abingdon
26/02/2021 323 Acquisition Runtime Collective Ltd, Cision Ltd, USA
Brighton
04/01/2021 308 IBO Wolseley UK Ltd, Warwick Clayton Dubilier & Rice
(from Ferguson Plc,
Wokingham)
10/03/2021 216 Private Equity Snyk Ltd, Reading
16/02/2021 212 Acquisition Whitney Bradley and Serco Group Plc, Hook
Brown Inc, USA
27/01/2021 200 Private Equity Markerstudy Ltd,
Sevenoaks
17/03/2021 181 Rights Issue Ceres Power Holdings Plc,
Horsham
21/01/2021 170 Acquisition Groundsure Ltd, Brighton Australian Technology
Innovators Pty Ltd,
Australia
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 17South East
Legal adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Volume1
1 9 SHOOSMITHS 19
2 1 HARRISON CLARK RICKERBYS 15
3 14 ADDLESHAW GODDARD 10
4 2 KNIGHTS 10
5 6 FREETHS 7
6 4 GATELEY 7
7 - GOWLING WLG 7
8 18 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 6
9 - SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU 6
10 11 DMH STALLARD 5
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Value (£m)
1 8 COVINGTON & BURLING 4,734
2 - ASHURST 4,299
3 - GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER 323
4 1 CLIFFORD CHANCE 308
4 - DEBEVOISE & PLIMPTON 308
6 - SLAUGHTER AND MAY 200
7 - DLA PIPER 173
8 - TRAVERS SMITH 170
9 - BURGES SALMON 145
9 - MACFARLANES 145
Page 18 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewSouth East
Financial adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Volume1
1 3 RSM 19
2 1 K3 CAPITAL GROUP 14
3 4 BDO 12
4 23 AZETS 8
5 - PEEL HUNT 6
6 8 MAZARS 6
7 2 EMC CORPORATE FINANCE 5
8 - MHA MACINTYRE HUDSON 5
9 23 PKF FRANCIS CLARK 5
10 7 GRANT THORNTON 5
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Value (£m)
1 - JP MORGAN 4,299
2 - BARCLAYS 2,443
3 1 BANK OF AMERICA 2,406
3 - BERENBERG BANK 2,406
3 - BNP PARIBAS 2,406
3 - DEUTSCHE BANK 2,406
3 - GOLDMAN SACHS 2,406
3 - JEFFERIES 2,406
3 15 MORGAN STANLEY 2,406
3 - UBS 2,406
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 19South West
Summary into acquisitive veterinary care group, IVC Evidensia, in a
The South West M&A market recorded 181 deals in the deal worth €3.5bn. The Bristol-based company, majority-
first quarter of 2021, the highest number ever recorded owned by EQT, has acquired 37 veterinary practices in the
in our deal history. This represents a 22% increase on year to date, and the increased investment will be used to
the same period last year and continues the upturn we’ve further accelerate growth. Also in February, Wimborne-
seen since the disruption caused by Covid-19 at the start based Cobham sold its air-to-air refuelling business to
of Q2 2020. Deal values also outperformed previous Eaton Corp, for just over £2bn. Cobham has also sold
years, with the £21.1bn recorded in Q1 representing a antenna and radio manufacturer Cobham Aerospace
306% growth on Q1 2020. Three mega deals, collectively Connectivity (CAC); training provider Aviation Services
worth £19.5bn, were announced in this reporting period, UK; and its 13% stake in tanker maintenance joint venture
compared to just one for the whole of 2020. Large deals AirTanker since it was acquired by Advent International in
doubled in volume, with four recorded since the start of January 2020.
year, whilst small-cap and mid-market deals accounted
for the bulk of activity. Only small-cap deals saw a dip in Industry
value, by 23.7%, with mid-market, large cap and mega Professional services was the most active industry by
deals all enjoying significant growth. The resilience of the deal volume, recording 68 deals in the first quarter,
market can only be good news for dealmakers, and as an increase of 58% on the same period last year.
the country continues to re-open for business and leisure Values also increased significantly, up from £97m in
again, M&A will undoubtedly creep back on to corporate Q1 2020 to £5.1bn. The wholesale and retail sector
agendas. The South West accounted for 24% of all UK deal also outperformed Q1 2020, with the level of activity
values and 11% of volume. almost doubling to 38 deals worth £2.4bn. Deals in the
manufacturing sector remained reasonably stable, with
Headline Deals the 30 recorded transactions just four less than in the
National Grid’s £14.2bn transformational offer to same period last year. Activity in the infocomms sector
acquire Western Power Distribution from US energy tailed off slightly, with the volume of deals reported down
firm PPL Corp was the highest value deal of the quarter. 20% in Q1 2021. Despite the fall in volume, valuations
Completion of the deal, which is expected by July in this sector remained strong, with the 24 deals worth
2021, will pivot National Grid’s UK portfolio towards £2.8bn in comparison to the £136m reported in Q1 2020.
electricity and significantly scale its position in electricity
distribution.
February saw the investment by Silver Lake and Nestle
South West deals
Q1 2017 – Q1 2021
200 25000
180
20000
160
140
15000
120
100
80 10000
60
40 5000
20
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of Deals Value (£M)
Page 20 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewSouth West
Funding Advisers
Where funding arrangements were disclosed, private Harrison Clark Rickerbys was the most active legal
equity accounted for 11% of South West deals, in adviser of the quarter, advising on 19 deals, followed by
comparison to 16% in the first three months of 2020. Burges Salmon with eight deals and Gowling WLG on
Business Growth Fund, Innovate UK and Queen’s Park seven. Top spot in the value tables was jointly awarded
Equity were the most active investors in Q1 2021, with to Ashurst, Cravath Swaine & Moore, Herbert Smith and
Silver Lake’s investment into IVC Evidensia the most Skadden Arps by virtue of their work on the acquisition
valuable private equity deal in the year to date. of Western Power Distribution. BDO topped the volume
Debt-funded deals stood at 6%, with Santander the table for financial advisers with 34, having advised IVC
most active lender. Evidensia on its acquisition spree. PKF Francis Clark took
second place with 12 deals, followed by Hazlewoods in
third place with nine deals. Goldman Sachs topped the
value table, advising on deals worth £17.5bn, followed by
Barclays and Robey Warshaw in joint second on £14.4bn.
Top ten deals: South West
Q1 2021
Date Consideration Deal type Target Bidder
(£m)
18/03/2021 14,200 Acquisition PPL WPD Investments National Grid Plc, London
Ltd, Bristol
10/02/2021 3,067 Minority Stake Independent Vetcare Silver Lake
Holdings Ltd, Bristol
01/02/2021 2,065 Acquisition Cobham Mission Systems Eaton Corporation Plc,
Wimborne Ltd, Wimborne Ireland/USA
12/02/2021 290 Acquisition Xirgo Technologies Sensata Technologies
Intermediate Holdings Holding Plc, Royal
LLC, USA Wootton Bassett
10/02/2021 210 Acquisition London Topco Ltd (ADEY), Polypipe Group Plc,
Cheltenham Doncaster
09/02/2021 145 Acquisition Nucleus Financial Group James Hay Holdings Ltd,
Plc, London Salisbury
30/03/2021 133 Acquisition Portfolio of Eight Aventicum Real Estate
Properties, from Unite LLP, London
Group Plc, Bristol
11/02/2021 90 Growth Capital Western Global Holdings
Ltd, Bristol
05/01/2021 50 Growth Capital Wildanet Ltd, Redruth
05/02/2021 46 Rights Issue Warehouse REIT Plc,
Exeter
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 21South West
Legal adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Volume1
1 1 HARRISON CLARK RICKERBYS 19
2 9 BURGES SALMON 8
3 - GOWLING WLG 7
4 - OSBORNE CLARKE 6
5 5 TLT 6
6 18 FOOT ANSTEY 5
7 4 GATELEY 5
8 3 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 4
9 - EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND 4
10 - BIRKETTS 3
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Value (£m)
1 - ASHURST 14,400
1 - CRAVATH SWAINE & MOORE 14,400
1 - HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS 14,400
1 - SKADDEN ARPS SLATE MEAGHER & FLOM 14,400
5 - COVINGTON & BURLING 2,065
6 - OSBORNE CLARKE 372
7 7 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 246
8 25 BURGES SALMON 213
9 - EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND 211
10 6 MACFARLANES 145
Page 22 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewSouth West
Financial adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Volume1
1 5 BDO 34
2 2 PKF FRANCIS CLARK 12
3 1 HAZLEWOODS 9
4 3 K3 CAPITAL GROUP 8
5 12 ISCA VENTURES 6
6 10 BISHOP FLEMING 6
7 20 PEEL HUNT 5
8 4 GRANT THORNTON 5
9 10 RSM 4
10 - AZETS 4
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Value (£m)
1 - GOLDMAN SACHS 17,468
2 1 BARCLAYS 14,400
3 - ROBEY WARSHAW 14,400
4 3 NUMIS SECURITIES 3,068
4 - JEFFERIES 3,068
4 - JP MORGAN 3,068
7 - DELOITTE 300
8 - MOELIS & CO 210
8 - ROTHSCHILD & CO 210
10 7 PEEL HUNT 153
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 23East of England
Summary The consolidation of businesses in the pharmaceutical
The East of England M&A market recorded 161 industry continued with the next largest deal within the
transactions in the first quarter of 2021, the second region also falling into that sector – French multinational
highest number announced within the last four years pharmaceutical giant Sanofi closed a deal to acquire
behind the 182 confirmed for the same period in 2020 Kymab Group, a Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical
(pre-pandemic, a fall of 12%). Despite the positive upturn group focused on the discovery and development of fully
in deal volumes from Q2 and Q3 2020, this was not human monoclonal antibody drugs, for an aggregate
reflected in transaction values which have significantly consideration of just under £1.1bn. These deals perhaps
fallen in comparison to those quarters and down 16% highlighting that whilst many companies are struggling
to £7.6bn from the same corresponding period in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, in this particular
where they reached £9bn. Two mega deals, collectively sector they are thriving and remain attractive targets for
worth just over £6.3bn, were announced in Q1, compared the big pharmaceutical corporations.
to just one for the same period last year. Large deals
remained constant in volume, with three recorded since Industry
the start of year, whilst mid-market deals rose from 12 to Professional services rose to become the East of
13, year on year. Companies based in the East of England England’s most active industry in the first three months
have been involved in just over 9% of all UK deals - of this year (previously in third place in 2020), with the 44
making it the seventh busiest region, also contributing 9% announced deals representing 27% of the region’s M&A
of the total value. total. This was very closely followed by manufacturing as
the next best sector with 44 deals also recorded (albeit
Headline Deals with a slightly lower overall transaction value). From an
The region recorded the biggest UK deal outside of overall perspective, only the professional services and
London (and second biggest for the UK as a whole) education industries reported an increase in deal volume
for Q1 2021 – this being the acquisition by Irish in comparison to Q1 2020, whilst the former of these,
biopharmaceutical company Jazz Pharmaceuticals of GW along with hospitality, arts and entertainment and mining
Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge-based pharmaceutical and quarrying were the only sectors to report a positive
company engaged in the development of a portfolio of growth in transaction values year on year.
prescription medicines derived from cannabis, for just
under £5.3bn (or US$220 per American Depositary Share).
East of England deals
Q1 2017 – Q1 2021
350 25000
300
20000
250
15000
200
150 10000
100
5000
50
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of Deals Value (£M)
Page 24 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewEast of England
Funding Advisers
Where detailed funding arrangements were disclosed, we PKF Francis Clark has been the most active financial
recorded 27 deals – approximately 17% of all announced adviser in Q1 advising on ten transactions, just ahead of
transactions - that were funded at least in part by K3 Capital (nine) and Azets in third position having been
private equity. This is a decrease on the 34 private equity cited in eight deals. Evercore is in pole position in the value
transactions recorded during the first quarter of 2020 table, advising on two transactions totalling just under
(19% share). Parkwalk Advisors were the lead provider in £5.8bn. These included representing Jazz Pharmaceuticals
two of these deals (approximately £40m in total). A total of in the largest deal mentioned previously and also US-
12 transactions were funded via bank debt, one less than based Insightful Science in its £500m (approximate)
2020’s total. Triple Point Investment Management was the acquisition of Hertfordshire-based Dotmatics, a scientific
most active debt provider in the region, after providing informatics company focusing on data management,
funding for three of these transactions. The majority of analysis and visualisation. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher
all transactions were funded via cash, with the 61 deals & Flom (£5.4bn) topped the legal value standings, just
funded this way representing almost 38% of all East of ahead of Macfarlanes (£5.3bn), whilst the highest legal
England deals recorded so far this year. adviser by volume was Eversheds Sutherland advising on
16 transactions. They were just ahead of Harrison Clark
Rickerbys and Mills & Reeve, having advised on eight and
seven deals, respectively.
Top ten deals: East of England
Q1 2021
Date Consideration Deal type Target Bidder
(£m)
03/02/2021 5,274 Acquisition GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc,
Cambridge Republic of Ireland
11/01/2021 1,074 Acquisition Kymab Group Ltd, Sanofi-Aventis Groupe SA,
Cambridge France
22/03/2021 498 Acquisition Dotmatics Ltd, Bishops Insightful Science LLC,
Stortford USA
01/03/2021 126 Private Equity Achilles Therapeutics Ltd,
Stevenage
18/03/2021 108 Acquisition Trans-Siberian Gold Plc, Horvik Ltd, Cyprus
Cambridge
19/01/2021 94 Rights Issue JD Wetherspoon Plc,
Watford
05/03/2021 53 Acquisition Senior Aerospace PCX Aerosystems LLC,
Connecticut (from Senior USA
Plc, Rickmansworth)
16/02/2021 48 IPO Virgin Wines UK Plc,
Norwich
13/01/2021 39 Growth Capital Jensco Holdings Ltd,
Elstree
Peter Brotherhood Ltd, Howden Group Ltd,
12/03/2021 35 Acquisition
Luton London
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 25East of England
Legal adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Legal Adviser Volume1
1 8 EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND 16
2 4 HARRISON CLARK RICKERBYS 8
3 1 MILLS & REEVE 7
4 3 GATELEY 6
5 - SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU 4
6 11 ADDLESHAW GODDARD 4
7 - MACFARLANES 3
8 - DLA PIPER 3
9 18 TAYLOR VINTERS 3
10 - KIRKLAND & ELLIS 3
10 2 BIRKETTS 3
10 13 HOWES PERCIVAL 3
10 8 SHOOSMITHS 3
10 - DWF 3
Current rank Previous rank Legal Adviser Value (£m)
1 - SKADDEN ARPS SLATE MEAGHER & FLOM 5,382
2 - MACFARLANES 5,274
2 - A&L GOODBODY 5,274
2 - ARTHUR COX 5,274
2 - CRAVATH SWAINE & MOORE 5,274
2 - SLAUGHTER AND MAY 5,274
2 - SULLIVAN & CROMWELL 5,274
2 - WACHTELL LIPTON ROSEN & KATZ 5,274
9 - GOODWIN 1,200
10 - WEIL GOTSHAL & MANGES 1,074
Page 26 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewEast of England
Financial adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Volume1
1 - PKF FRANCIS CLARK 10
2 - K3 CAPITAL 9
3 - AZETS 8
4 21 KPMG 6
5 6 BENCHMARK INTERNATIONAL 6
5 6 BDO 6
5 10 PEM CORPORATE FINANCE 6
8 - FRP ADVISORY 5
9 - ALANTRA 4
10 2 ENSORS 4
10 9 HAZLEWOODS 4
10 4 MHA LARKING GOWEN 4
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Value (£m)
1 - EVERCORE 5,792
2 - CENTERVIEW PARTNERS 5,274
2 1 GOLDMAN SACHS 5,274
2 - GUGGENHEIM SECURITIES 5,274
5 - JP MORGAN 1,200
6 - JEFFERIES 498
7 - BANK OF AMERICA 126
7 - CHARDAN CAPITAL MARKETS 126
7 - KEMPEN & CO 126
7 - OPPENHEIMER & CO 126
7 - PIPER SANDLER COMPANIES 126
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 27The Midlands
Summary Harvester restaurant chains, looked to raise funds on the
The volume of Midlands M&A activity dropped by only stock market with a £350m open offer which completed
5.8% compared with Q1 2020, showing a resilience in March. This quarter also witnessed some notable
despite the hardships that extended lockdown has cross-border activity in the Midlands, with the bio-tech
inflicted on the deal making world. More transactions for sector acquisition of Retrogenix of Derbyshire by US life
the quarter are likely to be recorded throughout the year sciences firm Charles River Laboratories International, for
and this decline may get smaller yet – and on a positive approximately £40m.
note, the Q1 volume figures are more than double the
quarterly volume recorded for Q2 last year at the start Industry
of the pandemic. Interestingly the value of transactions In the industry analysis we see some healthy signs that
this quarter has increased by 43% to £2.8bn. This boost the more prominent sectors are returning to growth in
in figures is in part due to the large IPO featured in the term of M&A activity. Manufacturing, the largest sector
headline deals below – with no deals worth more than in the Midlands, saw the quantity of deals increase by
£1bn recorded during the first quarter of 2020. All other 38.5% from 65 in Q1 2020 to 90 in the first three months
value bandings have seen a larger decline in this quarter of this year. The value of manufacturing deals rose from
compared to the total number of deals, suggesting while £807m to £1.8bn. There were eight other industries that
deals are still being done there is more reluctance to experienced growth in M&A transactions during this
share considerations publicly. period. These included infocomms which had an increase
of 32% where transaction went from 38 in Q1 2020 to
Headline Deals 50 so far this year, and financial services with a 14%
Perhaps unsurprisingly we find five of the biggest increase.
deals in the Midlands involved public companies. The
top of these was the initial public offering of famous Funding
Northamptonshire footwear brand Dr Martens, which While management buy-out’s remained consistent
raised £1.3bn in new funds at a market capitalisation of compared to Q1 2020 with 17 transactions, an up and
£3.7bn. Private equity backer Permira paid just £300m coming deal type was the employee buy-in/by-out, often
for the company in 2014. Hospitality joined retail in the conducted through an Employee Ownership Trust. There
public markets as Mitchells & Butlers of Birmingham, were no EBO’s recorded in Q1 2020, while already this
the owner and operator of the O'Neills, All Bar One and year there has been five.
Midlands deals
Q1 2017 – Q1 2021
350 12000
300 10000
250
8000
200
6000
150
4000
100
50 2000
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of Deals Value (£M)
Page 28 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewThe Midlands
The volume of private equity-backed transactions fell In terms of value, the leader of the group was
from 40 transaction to 28 this quarter, yet there was more Shakespeare Martineau, with a total value of £1.4bn from
investor buy-outs this quarter (with 11, compared to seven 14 transactions, closely followed by Freshfields and
last year). Business Growth Fund (BGF) was the main Linklaters, both with £1.3bn for the quarter. The busiest
source of capital to firms in the Midlands, completing four financial adviser for the Midlands was K3 Capital Group
investments in both quarters. Bank debt was also down with 20 transactions and RSM second with a total of 18
as a source of funds; the top provider was Shawbrook deals. The value ranking has Morgan Stanley at the top
Bank, which provided funds in support of six deals. with a total value of £1.6bn as a result of advising on the
two largest transactions of the quarter. Joint second
Advisers place is held by the other advisers on the Dr Martens IPO,
Gateley retained their top spot in terms of volume of including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays,
transactions in Q1 2021 with a total of 22 assists since HSBC, Lazard and RBC Europe.
the start of the year. Higgs and Sons moved from sixth to
second position with 17 transactions this quarter.
Top ten deals: The Midlands
Q1 2021
Date Consideration Deal type Target Bidder
(£m)
11/01/2021 1,295 IPO Dr Martens Plc,
Wellingborough
07/01/2021 350 Rights Issue Mitchells & Butlers Plc,
Birmingham
04/01/2021 308 IBO Wolseley UK Ltd, Warwick Clayton Dubilier & Rice
25/01/2021 225 IBO AFH Financial Group Plc, Cortina Bidco Ltd
Bromsgrove
01/03/2021 64 Acquisition Camden Solar NextEnergy Solar Fund
Photovoltaic Portfolio, Ltd, Guernsey
Nottingham
28/01/2021 62 Divestment Knights Group Holdings
Plc, Newcastle-under-
Lyme
10/03/2021 43 Minority Stake Reiss (Holdings) Ltd, Next Plc, Leicester
London
29/03/2021 41 Divestment Mortgage Advice Bureau
(Holdings) Plc, Derby
31/03/2021 40 Acquisition Retrogenix Ltd, New Mills Charles River
Laboratories International
Inc, USA
22/03/2021 35 Acquisition Peter Brotherhood Ltd, Howden Group Ltd,
Luton registered in Birmingham
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 29The Midlands
Legal adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Volume1
1 1 GATELEY 22
2 6 HIGGS & SONS 17
3 - SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU 14
4 2 HARRISON CLARK RICKERBYS 13
5 5 BROWNE JACOBSON 10
6 7 SHOOSMITHS 8
7 9 FREETHS 8
8 11 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 6
9 16 GOWLING WLG 6
10 10 DWF 6
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Value (£m)
1 25 SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU 1,365
2 - FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER 1,295
2 - LINKLATERS 1,295
4 - CLIFFORD CHANCE 308
4 - DEBEVOISE & PLIMPTON 308
6 - EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND 225
7 - KIRKLAND & ELLIS 225
8 15 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 55
9 - DENTONS 35
10 7 DLA PIPER 28
1
Where two advisers are tied, transaction deal values will constitute which of the advisers are ranked higher.
Page 30 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewThe Midlands
Financial adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Volume1
1 4 K3 CAPITAL GROUP 20
2 11 RSM 18
3 - AZETS 13
4 5 BDO 8
5 2 GRANT THORNTON 8
6 7 KPMG 7
7 - BENCHMARK INTERNATIONAL 6
8 15 FINNCAP 5
9 12 CLEARWATER INTERNATIONAL 5
10 10 PWC 4
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Value (£m)
1 1 MORGAN STANLEY 1,645
2 7 GOLDMAN SACHS 1,295
2 - BANK OF AMERICA 1,295
2 7 BARCLAYS 1,295
2 - HSBC 1,295
2 - LAZARD 1,295
2 - RBC EUROPE 1,295
8 11 PWC 308
9 - SHORE CAPITAL GROUP 230
10 - KEEFE BRUYETTE & WOODS 225
1
Where two advisers are tied, transaction deal values will constitute which of the advisers are ranked higher.
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 31Yorkshire & Humber
Summary This was some way ahead of the next most notable
Despite the disruption caused by the third Covid-19 transaction which saw Doncaster-based Polypipe
lockdown at the start of the year, deal activity within the Group, one of Europe's largest manufacturers of piping,
Yorkshire and Humber region made a promising start in underfloor heating and energy-efficient ventilation, agree
the opening quarter - continuing from where it left off at the £210m all cash acquisition of London TopCo (trading
the end of 2020. Deal volumes were up 9% on a year on as ADEY), a Cheltenham-based provider of magnetic
year basis, from 169 in Q1 2020 to 184 recorded in Q1 filters, chemicals and related products, from exiting
2021 – the highest first quarter figure over the last five investor LDC.
years. The positivity in deal numbers was reflected in
transaction values which rose to just over £1.4bn (up from Industry
£761m in the corresponding period last year). Yorkshire Manufacturing remains the most active sector in the
and Humber-based companies were involved in 11% of Yorkshire and Humber region with 59 transactions so
all UK deals in Q1 2021 and contributed 1.7% to their total far in 2021, some way ahead of wholesale and retail
value. (with 46) and professional services a close third on
44 transactions. These sectors, along with financial
Headline Deals services, infocomms, support services, transport, mining
Acquisitions dominated the top deals for the region (the and quarrying and education all reported double-digit
five biggest deals were all of this type), moving away from growth in deal numbers for Q1 2021 on a year on year
the fundraisings and rights issues which dominated most basis. In respect of transaction values, there were only
of 2020 because of the uncertainty caused by Covid-19 seven of the 19 sectors which reported an increase; the
issues. The largest of these transactions saw Drax Group, most notable of these being in manufacturing (where
a Selby-based electrical power generation company, deals worth £925m were recorded), wholesale and
close a deal to acquire Pinnacle Renewable Energy, a retail (£343m), support services (£195m) and infocomms
Canadian producer and supplier of sustainable biomass, (£170m) reporting triple digit growth or more. It is also
for £423m including debt. important to mention the transaction which saw waste
management company Biffa acquire Company Shop,
a Barnsley-based redistributor of surplus food and
household products, for just under £88m – this was a
significant factor in driving up deal values in the waste
management sector from just £3m in Q1 2020 to £104m
in the corresponding period for this year.
Yorkshire & Humber deals
Q1 2017 – Q1 2021
200 12000
180
10000
160
140 8000
120
100 6000
80
4000
60
40
2000
20
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of Deals Value (£M)
Page 32 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewYorkshire & Humber
Funding Advisers
Where detailed funding arrangements were disclosed, BHP Corporate Finance has been the most active financial
we recorded a total of 14 transactions that were funded adviser so far in 2021 having advised on 11 transactions
at least in part via new bank debt; down from 27 over the (up from 7th in the same rankings in 2020); just ahead
same period in 2020. Caple, a European specialist in SME of RSM and PwC on nine and seven deals, respectively.
growth credit, has been the region’s most active lender so RBC Capital Markets was the lead financial adviser by
far providing funding for three transactions, rising above value by virtue of a single transaction - acting for Pinnacle
the more traditional lenders HSBC and Shawbrook Bank Renewable Energy in its £423m acquisition by Drax
that provided funding for two deals. Private equity has mentioned previously. Squire Patton Boggs are at the top
been a prominent source of funding in the region having of the legal value rankings, having provided advice on
been involved in funding 29 transactions so far this year, 10 deals for an aggregate consideration of £257m. The
making it the second most common source of funding for highest legal adviser by volume was Clarion Solicitors
new deals behind cash (67). Whilst the number of deals on 15 transactions, edging out Gateley (14) and Schofield
funded via private equity has increased moderately (from Sweeney in third with 12 deals.
21 last year), there has been a huge spike in the value of
those deals from £15m to just under £83m.
Top ten deals: Yorkshire & Humber
Q1 2021
Date Consideration Deal type Target Bidder
(£m)
08/02/2021 423 Acquisition Pinnacle Renewable Drax Group Plc, Selby
Energy Inc, Canada
10/02/2021 210 Acquisition London Topco Ltd (doing Polypipe Group Plc,
business as ADEY), Doncaster
Cheltenham
10/02/2021 96 Acquisition Polypipe Group Plc,
Doncaster
25/03/2021 90 Acquisition Bee Health Ltd, Wakefield INW Manufacturing
LLC (doing business as
Innovations in Nutrition +
Wellness), USA
25/02/2021 88 Acquisition Company Shop Ltd, Biffa Plc, High Wycombe
Barnsley
04/02/2021 75 Private Equity BigChange Group Ltd,
Leeds
15/01/2021 62 Divestment Clipper Logistics Plc, Leeds
08/03/2021 49 Acquisition EQi Direct-to-Consumer Interactive Investor
Customer Business of Holdings Ltd, Leeds
Equiniti Group Plc, Crawley
09/03/2021 32 Rights Issue WANdisco Plc, Sheffield
26/02/2021 32 Acquisition DAM Structures Ltd, Severfield Plc, Thirsk
Bridlington
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 33Yorkshire & Humber
Legal adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Volume1
1 2 CLARION SOLICITORS 15
2 1 GATELEY 14
3 3 SCHOFIELD SWEENEY 12
4 10 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 10
5 24 MILLS & REEVE 10
6 6 ADDLESHAW GODDARD 9
7 22 WALKER MORRIS 7
8 19 CMS 7
9 4 GORDONS 7
10 9 KEEBLES 6
Current rank Previous rank Legal adviser Value (£m)
1 19 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS 257
2 - EVERSHEDS SUTHERLAND 210
2 - OSBORNE CLARKE 210
4 1 ADDLESHAW GODDARD 90
5 - WEIL GOTSHAL & MANGES 90
6 2 WALKER MORRIS 88
7 12 BLACKS SOLICITORS 75
7 - VEDDER PRICE 75
9 26 DWF 73
10 - TAYLOR WESSING 49
Page 34 | MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A ReviewYorkshire & Humber
Financial adviser rankings
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Volume1
1 7 BHP CORPORATE FINANCE 11
2 2 RSM 9
3 - PWC 7
4 7 KPMG 6
5 - CLEARWATER INTERNATIONAL 6
5 - K3 CAPITAL 6
7 12 DOW SCHOFIELD WATTS 5
7 - BDO 5
9 7 CLIVE OWEN 4
10 - MAZARS 4
Current rank Previous rank Financial adviser Value (£m)
1 - RBC CAPITAL MARKETS 423
2 - MOELIS & CO 306
3 - ROTHSCHILD & CO 210
3 - DELOITTE 210
5 1 NUMIS SECURITIES 92
6 3 ALANTRA 90
6 - GUGGENHEIM SECURITIES 90
8 21 KPMG 75
8 - LANGRICKS CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS 75
10 - SHORE CAPITAL & CORPORATE 62
1
Where two advisers are tied, transaction deal values will constitute which of the advisers are ranked higher.
MarketIQ United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland M&A Review | Page 35North West
Summary Elsewhere in the North West, Greater Manchester-based
The North West has had a extremely strong start to sports and leisure retailer JD Sports Fashion featured
2021 in terms of both the volume and value of M&A in the top ten list twice, with a fund raising on the
transactions. In Q1 2021 there were 233 transactions stock exchange valued at £464m and the acquisition of
recorded, up by 5.4% on the 221 recorded during the DTLR Villa, a USA sportswear retailer, in a transaction
first quarter of 2020 and the highest since the second announced in February at a total value of £495m. The top
quarter of 2019 - hopefully showing the worst impact of ten deals involve seven public company transactions and
the pandemic on the North West deals market is over and sit mainly in the large value banding of over £100m, with
indicative of a promising trajectory for the rest of 2021. no £1bn plus transactions so far this year.
Meanwhile the value of North West deals reached £4.3bn,
up from £2bn in Q1 2020, with values boosted by a 75% Industry
increase in the large-deals value segment. The mid- The region’s six most active industries in term of M&A
market was the strongest performing value banding, with activity have all enjoyed a return to growth this quarter.
an impressive 120% increase to 33 deals worth a total Professional services and wholesale and retail were the
of just over £1bn. The North West was the fourth busiest busiest sectors and were up 20% and 16%, respectively,
region of the UK in terms of deal volume, with 13.6% of year on year, while infocomms enjoyed a 39% increase
deals having a North West element, while companies in in deals this quarter, up to 50 transactions. Elsewhere,
the region provided around 5% of the UK’s overall value. the volume of manufacturing transactions increased
from 46 in Q1 2020 to 48 in Q1 2021, with values soaring
Headline Deals to £621m, boosted by the £403m acquisition of medical
The largest deal so far this year saw EG Group (also device manufacturer Scapa Group by a subsidiary of
known as Euro Garages), Blackburn, the petrol forecourt US manufacturing conglomerate Schweitzer-Mauduit
and retail convenience store group, agree to acquire the International. With several deals in the regional top ten,
forecourt business of Asda Stores for £750m. EG is owned the wholesale and retail sector was the North West’s
by the highly acquisitive Issa brothers, who separately most valuable sector, with the total value of deals soaring
inked a multi-billion pound deal to acquire Asda last year to £2.4bn (up from just £264m in the first quarter of 2020).
in combination with TDR Capital.
North West deals
Q1 2017 – Q1 2021
300 10000
9000
250
8000
7000
200
6000
150 5000
4000
100
3000
2000
50
1000
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of Deals Value (£M)
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