UK buyouts boom in Q2

Buyouts in the UK market have recorded the highest level of investment in Q2 this year, the first quarter in which they have breached the £8bn mark. In total there were 43 deals in Q2 this year that averaged a value of £194m.

Charles Milner, head of corporate finance at KPMG, said: “No one part of the market sticks out as a hot spot. There has been strong activity across all levels of buyouts whether at the larger end or the mid-market.” He also noted that activity ranged across the different types of buyouts, including secondary and public-to-private deals, as well as traditional buyouts. Public-to-private deals were worth £2.177bn in Q2, which was accounted for by six deals. As for secondary transactions (including tiertary buyouts) these accounted for 14 of the 43 UK buyout deals transacted in Q2, and were worth a combined total of £3.391bn.

“Activity in the secondary market has been largely unaffected by the concerns over debt market stability. Clearly secondary transactions are now an established way to manage fund life-cycles and as a feature they are here to stay.”