Market commentary
Market analysis
- The data from May and June of this year indicate a continued lower level of Private Equity activity compared to the previous months in 2023 and 2022. Multiple factors, including the US, UK, and French elections, combined with sustained high interest rates, are holding up global investments.
- The numbers for LBOs, MBOs, and Secondary Buyouts have remained steady throughout the first half of 2024, at about half the levels seen in 2023 and 2022.
- Whilst IPO numbers showed a sign of recovery, with March and April counting 15 listings in Europe, the numbers corrected in May and June counting only nine successful listings in Europe (same as January and February combined).
- The UK continues to be the most active economy in Europe when it comes to Private Equity deals. This accounted for almost one-third of the total deals completed in the last two months.
- 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
- In the first quarter of 2024, we've observed an uptick in the number of available CFOs and finance leaders who were considering leaving their organisations before an exit. However, the market indicates that more and more CFOs are actively preparing to take the business through a sale process. Therefore, this transition period, expected to last 6-12 months, might complicate the process for funds seeking to hire high-quality CFOs.
- The Head of Portfolio Talent Acquisition from a mid-cap private equity fund confirmed that deal activities are trending lower, resulting in a decreased hiring volume. It was mentioned that CFOs remain the toughest role to hire, with high-quality candidates remaining committed to seeing through the exit of their current organisations.
- Due to searches taking longer and private equity firms needing to drive a change of strategy or direction into some of their portfolio companies quickly, there is a growing demand for interim CFOs. In some cases, interim CFOs are needed to prepare the company for a sale or exit.
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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About us
At Leathwaite, we partner with our clients globally to find the exceptional leadership talent they need to drive transformation and business value.
We’ve spent the last 20 years partnering with CEOs, Boards and Executive Committees finding the very best talent across the full spectrum of corporate officers. From technology, HR, finance and operations to marketing, commercial, risk and compliance, regulatory, legal, supply chain and procurement, we focus on providing diverse and forward thinking talent that will lead and instill meaningful change. The team delivers a range of executive search, executive interim, and market intelligence services.
We partner with organisations across; Consumer Markets, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Financial Services, Industrials, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Professional Services, Real Estate, Technology.
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