Corbett Keeling hosted a record 47 people at our annual dinner, themed on buying, selling and raising money for businesses. Our three speakers provided our guests with informative and entertaining insights into the climate for mergers and acquisitions:
Tim Farazmand, Former Chairman of the British Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and Managing Director of leading private equity investor LDC, commented that the general climate was very positive and that BVCA members have £33bn to invest. He talked of the PPPE which make businesses attractive:
- P – People: “exceptional management”
- P – Products: what are you “famous for”
- P – Projections: “profit, cash, robustness”
- E – Exit: “needs to be understood”
Michael Moritz, President of Globalscope, the international mergers & acquistions network, and head of our German partner firm CatCap told guests that M&A activity in Germany is at its second peak since 1991 and the UK is the first choice destination for German money after Germany. He offered some interesting insights into European politics:
- The Euro: Germany paying for Greece but winning on cheap exports
- Immigration: Little support for open door policy within Germany
- Terrorism: Success requires a joint solution, working together
- Brexit: Doubts whether many reforms will be won so business people need to help make the case to keep the UK in
Matt Dixon, Corporate Finance Director of Corbett Keeling and Lead Editor of our and Globalscopes' regular updates on Global and UK transaction trends summarised forecasts for lower-mid market businesses as follows:
- Chinese downturn: 90% of those surveyed think this will have no impact on the lower-mid market
- EU immigration: 60% think there will be no negative impact, 30% think it will have a positive impact on business
- Deal activity: 70% think deal activity will increase and the remaining 30% think it will stay at already high levels
- Overall: 96% of responses indicate a neutral or positive outlook for the next 12 months!