BDO exceeds a deal a week in East Anglia and the Midlands in 2022

Accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP, advised on in excess of 50 deals in 2022 across East Anglia and the Midlands.

Among these deals, a significant proportion of transactions involved private equity, with cross-border deals also featuring strongly.

Deals spanned a range of sectors, including consumer, technology, manufacturing, financial services, transport and logistics, healthcare and life sciences, as well as automotive and support services.

John Gethen, Corporate Finance Director, M&A, said: “When you consider the economic headwinds that have been blowing strongly against businesses in 2022, the regional deals market over the last 12 months has been extraordinarily resilient.

“Deals are still getting done across all sectors, particularly those where long-term macro-economic and social tailwinds are supporting long-term growth. Specifically, deal volumes in manufacturing, TMT and healthcare remain strong, as the adoption of technology continues at pace.”

Highlights of transactions in East Anglia and the Midlands include: advising on the acquisition of Norwich-based Lifeline 24 by Appello; acting for Ipswich-based Woodward Markwell Insurance Brokers on its sale to insurance broking giants GRP; advising on the sale of Dorsey Construction Material to Röko; acting as reporting accountant on one of only a handful of IPOs in the region in 2022 – the AIM listing of Aurrigo International plc; advising on the sale of LTC Trading Holdings Limited and its subsidiary Lodge Tyre Company to Halfords Group plc; as we well as acting for Nottingham-based Albumedix Limited on its sale to Sartorius Stedim Biotech GmbH.

Vinny Patel, Partner, Transaction Services, commented: “Consistently, we see fantastic management teams in great businesses, and business owners who have faced the most enormous struggles in recent years, who have taken everything in their stride and thrived. When you also consider the quality of businesses we have in the region, then there are so many reasons to be optimistic for 2023.

“The good news is that many corporates continue to see M&A as a core part of their growth strategy and investors have abundant capital. M&A drivers remain strong, as acquirers pursue cost efficiencies, digital transformation, green transition, new technologies, new growth markets and scaling up to become more competitive. As valuations have also softened from the giddy days of 2021, companies and investors understand there will be opportunities to seize.”

Nationally, BDO advised on 362 deals in 2022 with a total value of £31.2 billion. Among these deals, transactions involving private equity accounted for two thirds of deals completed, with BDO outperforming the global M&A market.

Factset has ranked BDO, globally and in the UK, as number one for deals by volume in 2022, with BDO also taking top spot for financial due diligence in the Merger Market accounting league tables.