Market commentary
Market analysis
- Are we at the turning point of the PE market? The most recent data shows a recovery of PE activity in July and August. Clear signs of declining inflation and interest rates seem to have boosted deal activity.
- Secondary Buyouts have spiked in both the UK and Europe over the last two months, a positive sign of Private Equity houses starting to invest in interesting, and probably more expensive, assets.
- The IPO market remains bumpy in 2024, and evidently tracking below 2023 and 2022. There is still no indication of IPO market recovery in Europe and the UK. This might also be affected by US exchanges becoming increasingly attractive for European companies.
- The UK continues to be the most active economy in Europe when it comes to Private Equity deals. In the last two months, it accounted for almost half of the total deals completed.
- B2B product and service businesses continue to lead sector activities, with technology and B2C deals holding the second spot with similar activity levels. It is worth noting that in June, healthcare-related deals more than doubled compared to the previous month’s average.
CFO market implications
- The potential for the market to pick up will create two contrasting forces in the CFO market. When new deals happen, CFOs will become available as their equity is paid out. However, the majority will still be looking to earn their equity, since they have spent a longer-than-average tenure with the business and have an exit in sight.
- Multiple Head of Portfolio Talent Acquisition confirmed that CFOs remain the toughest role to hire, with high-quality candidates remaining committed to seeing through the exit of their current organisations and limited individuals coming to the market post exit.
- The need for Interim support is ever-increasing. Interim CFOs or Controller/Data Room specialists with exit experience are in particularly high demand as Private Equity investors are gearing up their investments for exit quicker than anticipated.
UK deals 2022-2024, Jan-April
Buyout activities – UK
IPOs and corporate divestitures – UK
2024 transactions by sector – UK
2023 transactions by sector – UK
2022 transactions by sector – UK
Europe deals 2022-2024, Jan-Feb
(UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy)
Buyout activities – Europe
(UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy)
IPOs and corporate divestitures – Europe
(UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy)
2024 transactions by sector – Europe
(UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy)
2023 transactions by sector – Europe
(UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy)
2022 transactions by sector – Europe
(UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy)
Active PE houses
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