• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Tuesday February 8 2022
• Author Name: Peter Davison

RSM UK named South East’s most active mergers and acquisitions adviser in 2021

The corporate finance team at Reading-based RSM UK has been named most active mergers and acquisitions financial advisers in the South East in the latest Experian M&A review for 2021. 

In total, RSM UK advised on 277 completed deals in 2021, including 85 in the South East, 78 in London and 48 in the Midlands – taking fourth place in the national league table.

Overall, Experian recorded 6,917 transactions involving a UK company in 2021, a 14 per cent increase on the 6,053 transactions in the previous year.

The deal activity for 2021 sits more in line with pre-pandemic levels – which was largely boosted by the pent-up demand at the beginning of the year, caused by the disruption of 2020.

Kirsty Sandwell, partner and national head of corporate finance at RSM UK, said: “Despite the initial shock of Covid-19, deal volumes have bounced back to 2019 levels.

“These results are yet another positive indicator that businesses are progressing with their investment plans and remain optimistic about the UK economy.

“With private equity houses sitting on large amounts of capital, it’s no surprise that they have contributed significantly to the strong levels of deal activity in 2021.

“The number of private equity-backed buyouts reached 520 last year, a notable increase from 340 the previous year.

“As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, we expect to see an increase in business distress in key sectors hit by the pandemic, which could present an opportunity to drive even further deal activity.”