RSM UK exceed £4bn deal value in 2021

RSM UK has advised on over 240 deals this year, with a combined value of £4.1bn across the UK – showcasing a record year for the corporate finance practice.

This equates to a 37 per cent uplift in value when compared to last year and an increase of over 50 per cent when compared with pre-pandemic levels.

The team has advised on a range of high-profile deals in 2021, including advising Protec Fire and Security Group Ltd on its sale to Bosch Building Technologies; advising the Roald Dahl Story Company (RDSC) on its landmark sale to Netflix; acting on the acquisition of SelectScience to Vespa Capital and the acquisition of Dext to HG Capital. 

Following a record year, RSM has also invested in senior talent with the appointments of Philip Parkes as a corporate finance partner and Jasper Van Heesch, Max Whitehead and Creag Campbell-Ace as directors in the private equity and due diligence teams, respectively.

RSM also promoted its own team with Helen Brocklebank and Alex Milne to becoming partners in April and Mark Colling, Michael Wang, Philip Robinson, Rikesh Patel, Sam Dalziel, Sarah Nichols and Stephanie Wilson all becoming directors in October. The corporate finance business has swollen its ranks by almost 40 per cent and has developed a market leading data analytics capability and vendor assist product.

Kirsty Sandwell, partner and head of transactions at RSM UK, said: ‘After a bumper Q1 when the threat of capital gains tax increases accelerated deals activity, deal volumes and values have remained high throughout 2021 due to the continued ambition of private equity investors and low cost of capital for corporates.

‘Software, communications, financial services and tech-enabled businesses have led M&A activity this year, with businesses exposed to consumer demand seeing less activity as Covid concerns have hampered confidence.

‘With high levels of liquidity in the market and continued low interest rates, the amount of cash in the market will continued to drive strong levels of M&A activity into the New Year. However, resource constraints across the advisory sector are what is holding back the industry. Expert services such as data analytics, financial modelling and due diligence remain in high demand, and buyers will need to continue to factor capacity issues into deal planning through 2022.’