Newbury: BCMS outperforms SME M&A sector with a record 25 deals over the summer

Small business owners are selling up at record levels as multinational corporations and investors ramp up their search for high-quality acquisitions, reports specialist SME adviser BCMS.

While Thomson Reuters reports a global 11% year-on-year rise in SME acquisitions, mergers & acquisitions specialist BCMS has posted a 21.8% annual increase for 2015, and has sold a record 25 SMEs in the past three months alone. This cements BCMS’ position as the world’s leading sell-side adviser to privately-owned companies by deal volume.

BCMS said multinational acquirers from the USA and Europe had been joined by newer players from Brazil, Thailand and Pakistan to acquire quality SME clients.

Other examples of big name interest in BCMS clients include:
- UK: sale of Global Insurance Management to French financial giant AXA
- South Africa: sale of TSS Transformers to WEG Industries of Brazil
- UK: investment in Style Research by Lyceum Capital

Strongest Q3 since 2007

BCMS is now completing more investment deals than ever – with one in six transactions backed by private equity this year, compared to one in eight for the wider market.

BCMS founding director Dave Rebbettes said: “These incredible results demonstrate that deal activity is intensive, and acquirer appetite is strong for our clients, whichever sector they operate in. It is particularly pleasing to see BCMS delivering a range of deal types, from sales to trade acquires to private-equity deals, MBOs and MBIs.”

The strongest performing SME sectors globally this year have been manufacturing, healthcare and IT – although BCMS is completing business sales across all sectors – from recruitment to precision engineering.

During Q3 2015, BCMS has delivered a 21.8% increase on its 2014 successes. This is significant because in 2014 BCMS was ranked as the world’s number one sell-side adviser: BCMS topped the Bureau van Dijk/Zephyr international rankings for the most private company sales by deal volume last year, ahead of the biggest names in corporate finance.

With 67 deals completed internationally in the calendar year to date, and 43 deals in the UK alone, BCMS expects to exceed its world-leading 2014 results. 30% of BCMS deals are cross-border, with the acquirer or investor located in a different country to the seller.