UK Watch: 2013 goes out with a bang

Unquote Corbett Keeling UK Watch Q4 2013

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15 January 2014

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A strong final quarter for 2013 saw deal volume and overall value hold up well across the board in the UK, showing a marked improvement on the first quarter of the year, according to the latest unquote” UK Watch, published in association with Corbett Keeling.

The latest results from the unquote" quarterly industry survey found that the volume of larger deals (transactions carrying enterprise values of £150m or more) picked up slightly compared to the previous quarter, with 13 deals against 11 in Q3.

Furthermore, early-stage and expansion deals were also on the up, with 69 of these deals completed in the fourth quarter compared with 60 in the previous period. This segment also fared well in terms of overall value, with total value of early-stage and expansion transactions coming in at £702m, well up on Q3's £510m.

The buoyant debt markets seen in the second half of 2013 meant many of our survey respondents (44%) expect the increasing availability of finance to be a significant driver for deals in 2014.

Even more encouraging was the 59% of survey respondents that are already actively hiring or planning on hiring new staff depending on the strength of dealflow.

Read the full report in the unquote" UK Watch, in association with Corbett Keeling.