Latest UK M&A Statistics for Q2 2024
The UK Office for National Statistics have just released their latest statistics for Q2 2024. Below is the update on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) involving UK companies for Q2 2024, during the period April to June 2024.
Please note that these include only transactions that result in a change of ultimate control of the target company and have a value of £1M or more. Also numbers are provisional and may be subject to revisions in either direction, but are more likely to be upwards than downwards.
Headline Statistics for UK M&A Q2 2024
In Q2-24, total number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) was 385, 78 fewer transactions than in the previous quarter (463).
Monthly M&A saw a total of 148 in APR-24, falling 4 to 144 in MAY-24, declining 51 further to 93 in JUN-24.
In Q2-24, total value of outward M&A was £4.2Bn, £0.4Bn lower than the previous quarter (£4.6Bn).
Domestic M&A in Q2-2024 was £2.6Bn, £1.0Bn lower than the previous quarter (£3.6Bn).
Value of inward M&A in Q2-24 was £5.0Bn, £0.6Bn lower than the previous quarter (£5.6Bn).
Figure above shows total number of monthly UK M&A from April 2020 to June 2024 ranged from 58 to 290 and fell sharply between May and June 2024.
Domestic monthly UK M&A was 58 transactions APR-24, increasing to 65 MAY-24, then falling to 41 in JUN-24.
Outward monthly UK M&A saw a small decline in the numbers between APR-24 (25) and MAY-24 (22) and declined further to 15 JUN-24.
Inward monthly UK M&A was 65 acquisitions APR-24 falling to 57 MAY-24 and again to 37 JUN-24.
The Bank of England’s summary of business conditions for Q2-24 reported that:
An overall slightly more positive sentiment is emerging from the range of investment intentions gathered this round compared to March. In general, contacts’ uncertainty over the economic outlook is easing, although financial constraints including the cost of finance and margin pressures continue to weigh on some.
The same report stated that:
Business service revenue growth continues, mostly down to price increases. Although expectations have been tempered by geopolitical uncertainties, contacts expect moderate growth in volumes through 2024. Contacts report that credit supply conditions remain the same. Debt markets are open and private debt funds are active. Lending to the largest borrowers with the lowest credit risk continues to be very competitive. Smaller firms that present greater credit risk report tight access to bank finance, though challenger banks and non-bank lenders are more willing to lend at high interest rates. Private equity finance remains tight as does start-up and early-stage finance.
Inward UK M&A Q2-24
Value Inward UK M&A Q2-24
Value inward M&A in Q2-24 fell to £5.0Bn, a decrease of £0.6Bn compared with the previous quarter (£5.6Bn) and £1.0Bn less than Q2-23 (£6.0Bn).
A notable inward acquisition that completed in Q2-24, was the acquisition of Wincanton Plc of the UK by GXO Logistics, Inc of the US.
Value of inward M&A between Q2-20 and Q2-24 ranged from £2.8Bn to £32.9Bn, falling to £5.0Bn in Q2-24.
Number Inward UK M&A Q2-24
Inward M&A transactions in Q2-24 were 159, a a small increase of 4 on the previous quarter (154) & 19 fewer than Q2-23 (178).
Total number of inward M&A acquisitions between Q2-20 and Q2-24 ranged from 81 to 221.
Outward UK M&A Q2-24
Value Outward UK M&A Q2-24
Value of outward M&A in Q2-24 was £4.2Bn. This was £0.4Bn lower than in the previous quarter (£4.6Bn) and £2.0Bn higher than Q2-23 (£2.2Bn).
One notable outward acquisition that completed in Q2-24 was the UK Commercial Property (UKCM) of Guernsey all-share takeover by Tritax Big Box (BBOX) of the UK.
Value outward M&A ranged from £1.7Bn to £32.1Bn between Q2-20 and Q2-24 and remained largely consistent between Q1-24 and Q2-24.
Number Outward UK M&A Q2-24
There were 62 outward acquisitions in Q2-24, 8 fewer than in the previous quarter (70) and 13 fewer than Q2-23 (75).
Total number of outward M&A between Q2-20 and Q2-24 ranged from 30 to 94 transactions and decreased to 62, the lowest since Q4-22.
Domestic UK M&A Q2-24
Value Domestic UK M&A Q2-24
Value of domestic M&A in Q2-24 was £2.6Bn, £1.0Bn less than previous quarter but similar to Q2-23 (also £2.6Bn).
One notable completed domestic M&A in Q2-24 was the acquisition of Orchestra Topco Limited of the UK by Compass Group Plc (PDF, 299KB), also of the UK.
Value of domestic M&A between Q2-20 and Q2-24 ranged from £0.9Bn to £17.9Bn, declining £1.0Bn between Q1-24 & Q2-24.
Number Domestic UK M&A Q2-24
Domestic M&A was 164 during Q2-24, 75 less than previous quarter (239) & 92 less than in Q2-23 (256).
Total number of domestic M&A between Q2-20 and Q2-24 ranged from 164 to 335, falling sharply from Q1-24 to Q2-24.
The above data for M&A Statistics for Q2-24 was extracted from the Office of National Statistics; full details here.
Do you want to know how the latest UK M&A statistics for Q2-24 are relevant to your company sale? Then contact us now for a confidential appraisal of potential market appetite for your industry.
Tags: M&A Statistics, M&A Stats, Office for National Statistics, Q2 2024, UK
