Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) continue to provide ambitious businesses with opportunities to achieve step-changes in their growth profiles through inorganic acquisitions. With global interest rates continuing to remain at historical lows and no obvious sign of an imminent and significant upward change in borrowing costs, historically cheap debt remains available to fuel global M&A activity. Global deal values had reached $3.3 trillion in the nine months to September 2018, significantly ahead of the prior year and reaching highs last seen pre-2008.
Globally, this trend is expected to continue, at least in the medium-term, as economies such as the US benefit from looser regulatory restrictions and controls under new business-friendly political leadership.
Despite various uncertainties prevailing at home, the UK remains a globally important player in the M&A space. Potential changes in the political landscape and trading relationships with some of our key partners generates opportunities for businesses to transact and position themselves most favourably for a new future.
There may be a slow-down in M&A activity at home in Q1 as businesses allow time for the macro-economic environment to settle onto its new course. However, regardless of the outcome of events such as Brexit, the increase in certainty as 2019 progresses and such events are resolved is likely to see the release of a significant amount of pent-up transactional pressure which could see very strong H2 UK deal dynamics.
