Germany, UK drove 10% activity uptick in Q4 2014

unquote" and SL Capital
11 February 2015

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While overall deal activity for 2014 was somewhat sluggish, a welcome rise in both the volume and value of transactions took place in the final quarter of the year, according to the latest unquote” Private Equity Barometer, published in association with SL Capital Partners.

During the last three months of 2014, the number of European private equity deals increased by 10%, from 334 deals in Q3 to 366 in Q4. Furthermore, combined value also jumped by 19%. This rise in aggregate value saw the average deal coming in at €73m for Q4, a 9% rise on the previous quarter and only 4% lower than the peak recorded during the last 10 quarters.

This overall rise in value highlights a wider trend towards larger deals for 2014, with total value for the year as a whole rising by 5%, while total volume dropped by 5%.
Looking solely at buyout activity, the last quarter of 2014 witnessed a rise in deal volume to 137 transactions, up from 133 deals in the previous quarter. Combined value for Q4 rose by an impressive 19%.

The DACH region saw the most significant increase in deal volume during Q4, up 62% from just 13 deals in Q3 to a healthy 21. Total deal value also rocketed from €1.8bn in the previous quarter to €7bn. Meanwhile, UK deal volume increased from 47 deals recorded in Q3 to 50 transactions in Q4.

For growth capital deals, aggregate value increased by 21%, from €2.3bn in the previous quarter to €2.7bn in the fourth quarter. Growth capital deal volume also saw an uptick – by 9%, from 170 deals to 185 in Q4.

Click here to download the full barometer.

All data is sourced from unquote" data, unquote's proprietary database. To conduct your own searches on pan-European private equity trends, visit unquotedata.com