Jason Whitworth
Consolidation remains high on the boardroom agenda in the UK & Ireland logistics & supply chain management sector
With EU-related uncertainty unresolved, domestic transactions are dominating the market
UK transaction volumes in the logistics & supply chain management industry remain strong with 14 deals completed in Q3, according to the latest report from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP.
The report also reveals that year to date deal volumes for 2019 are up by 77% on the same period last year.
With only 7% of 2019 deals seeing international buyers, domestic transactions continued to dominate the market against continued Brexit uncertainty. The period also saw heightened interest from institutional investors, accounting for 40% of deals this quarter.
This latest BDO update saw freight logistics as the most active sub-sector for deal volumes in Q3, with a 34% share of the deals, followed by freight forwarding, postal and courier delivery services and transport planning.
These findings follow a rise in UK annual deal volumes of 48% in 2018, but with only a 1% increase in aggregate disclosed deal value, indicating a shift towards high volume of mid-market deals.
Jason Whitworth, M&A partner and logistics & supply chain management lead at BDO, explained: “It’s clear to see consolidation remains high on the boardroom agenda as companies look to deliver efficiencies to maintain and drive margins and push to provide more value-added services.”
