UK buyouts strongest ever, says KPMG

Commenting on the quarter, Charles Milner, Head of Corporate Finance at KPMG’s Private Equity Group said “No one part of the market sticks out as a hot spot. There has been strong activity across all levels of buyouts whether at the larger end or the mid-market. The high level of activity is also reflected in the breadth of transaction types, whether buyout, secondary or public-to-private deals.”

“We are seeing corporate buyers showing greater appetite for deals, but although this should mean greater competition for private equity houses, it is not reflected in the last quarter’s performance. If anything it has given a boost to the sector’s liquidity by providing greater exit options.”

It was another active quarter for public-to-private deals with six deals worth £2.1bn. Milner adds “This level of public-to-private transactions is in line with what we would expect given the high overall activity levels. There appears to be no tailing off in the supply of potential targets and unless there is a big rally in the public markets public-to-private deal opportunities will continue to arise.”

Fourteen of the deals, worth £3.3bn in total, were secondary or tertiary transactions. Milner comments “Activity in the secondary market has been largely unaffected by the concerns over debt market stability. Clearly secondary transactions are now an established way to manage fund life-cycles and as a feature they are here to stay.”

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