2020-03-01 Business Insider

http://www.insider.co.uk March 2020 INSIDER 65

Masters at targeting clear-cut deal opportunities

ANDERSON ANDERSON & BROWN

CORPORATE FINANCE DIVISION

http://www.aab.uk

W

ITH more clarity

emerging at last on the

political landscape,

Scotland’s dealmakers

enjoyed a strong final quarter of 2019

which propelled the total number

of corporate transactions finalised

during the year to an all-time high.

Advisors worked on 1,120 UK and

overseas deals, up from 966 in 2018

and trumping the previous record of

1,071 in 2017. The total number of

Scottish deals also saw an impressive

16 per cent rise to 834. The aftermath

of the general election saw a flurry

of activity and with more certainty

around Brexit, advisors are confident

of another strong year in 2020.

Donald Munro, head of corporate

at Harper Macleod, says although

some commentators may have

“predicted tumbleweed to be blowing

through the deals market” after the

convincing Tory election victory

confirmed a Brexit deal of some

form, he wasn’t surprised by the

surge in activity. He says clients have

proved “resilient and active in the

face of uncertainty and seemingly

endless speculation”.

“For us, and it seems some of our

fellow Scottish dealmakers, 2019

was a great year and 2020 looks

set to deliver more of the same.

Consolidators are continuing apace,

particularly in financial services and

healthcare, and there is plenty of

investment capital around. Activity is

buoyant and we’re hearing the same

message from dealmakers we engage

with south of the border.”

Paul Mason, head of corporate

finance at Chiene + Tait, says

the deals market in the opening

quarter of 2020 has “continued to

look healthy” with his team seeing

significantly more disposals and

MBO transactions compared to

recent years. “The current deal

flow, and those in the pipeline, is

also balanced fairly evenly between

traditional economy and technology,

whereas we saw a real decline in

traditional economy deals in 2019.”

However, he says there remains

nervousness over the UK’s economic

and political situation. “While we

accept much of this as the ‘new

normal’..., it’s anybody’s guess how the

rest of the year will play out.”

The oil and gas sector – historically

a significant driver for deal activity –

saw another clutch of deals to top off

a strong 2019 which saw about $15bn

worth of North Sea assets changing

hands as majors continue to target

divestments. Just after the period end,

BP agreed terms to sell its interests

I didn’t want to sell to a larger

competitor that was more interested in

our intellectual property than the staff

Gordon Coulter of Exmos (below)

DEALS SURGE AS ELECTION

LIFTS THE FOG OF BREXIT

By PERRY GOURLEY Above: Innis and in association with

Gunn has raised

£2m through

crowdfunding

for its venture in

Edinburgh

Q4 DEALS: OVERVIEW