2024/25: Winter update
Welcome to the FRP Corporate Finance Winter update. As the evenings start to get lighter, and the first shoots of spring start to surface, we reflect on the last few months of activity including our recent deals, company news and sector insights.
Welcome to the FRP Corporate Finance Winter update. As the evenings start to get lighter, and the first shoots of spring start to surface, we reflect on the last few months of activity including our recent deals, company news and sector insights.
Partner Abu Ali from our Newcastle office provides an overview of the latest developments in the M&A market, and Debt Advisory Director Umito Choji, from our London office shares his thoughts on the evolution of funding options and the opportunities they present.
Following another year of significant progress, in January, we published our 2024: a year in review featuring video updates from M&A Advisory and Debt Advisory, our full year deal numbers, company news and video case studies.
Earlier this year, we welcomed Marc McDermott as a new Corporate Finance Director in our Newcastle office as we continue to strengthen our team in the North East. Marc brings more than 25 years’ experience across financial services and industry to the role.
We are delighted to once again be shortlisted in the Corporate Finance House of the Year-UK category at the Real Deals Private Equity Awards 2025. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on the 3 April 2025.
Abu Ali reviews the current UK M&A landscape
For the M&A market, the start of 2025 has been defined by both optimism and lingering uncertainty.
The Autumn Statement in October provided some much-needed clarity over the political direction of travel. Businesses can now make plans, and act on them, with greater confidence.
The interest rate cuts that materialised in November and February – and the prospect of more to come – has also strengthened the outlook. However, rates have unwound more slowly than expected, and the general economic landscape remains volatile. This means that there is residual caution from all parties.
For some, this has prompted them to delay M&A activity. Others, who have pressed ahead, are finding that deals are taking significantly longer to complete than in previous years. This is, in part, due to a greater emphasis on due diligence from both funders and would-be acquirers, and ultimately means businesses considering M&A are having to start planning earlier, and with even greater diligence, to achieve successful transactions.
But, for all this caution, it remains the case that there is appetite for businesses that have a clear value proposition, well-communicated through a solid go-to-market strategy.
Horses for courses: lenders continue to evolve in the face of shifting demand
Umito Choji shares his thoughts on the evolution of funding options and the opportunities they present.
It’s been an eventful start to 2025, with businesses and funders alike contending with continued geopolitical uncertainty while working through the bottom-line implications of October’s Autumn Budget. It has not been uncommon for these, combined with other macro and sector-specific events, to undermine forecasting accuracy and jeopardise fundraising activity.
Despite this challenge, a combination of falling base rates and an increasingly competitive lending landscape give cause for optimism for prospective borrowers, who are increasingly looking to debt to assist corporates and private equity investors with “mid-cycle” events, on top of acquisitions and buyouts.
Corporate Finance & Debt Advisory
Corporate Finance & Debt Advisory
Corporate Finance & Debt Advisory
