Brexit Effect? PE Investor Activity In The U.K. Sluggish To Start 2016

Brexit Effect? PE Investor Activity In The U.K. Sluggish To Start 2016 by Kevin Dowd, PitchBook

Just about any way you slice it, the first half of this decade has seen a marked uptick in private equity investment (non-venture) in the United Kingdom. In 2015, 388 PE investors completed 820 deals, according to the PitchBook Platform, with both figures representing five-year highs. Going back to 2011, 278 investors completed only 553 deals.

So far in 2016, however, there have been signs of a slowdown, perhaps spurred by the looming prospect of a British exit (Brexit) from the European Union. Just 113 U.K. transactions have been completed so far this year, on pace for the lowest total since 2012.

During the past five years, a preponderance of deals completed were in the manufacturing space, with SaaS and cleantech also accounting for significant proportions. One sector off to a slow start thus far in 2016 has been healthcare.

Here are the most active PE investors in the U.K. since 2011, along with their deal counts (incl. bolt-ons):

1. LDC (136)
2. Business Growth Fund (104)
3. Maven Capital Partners (69)
4. Inflexion Private Equity (55)
5. Palatine Private Equity (53)
6. August Equity (49)
7. Livingbridge, Blackstone (47)

Pitchbook Platform users can view the full list by clicking here. Interested in more data about where PE firms are investing? Contact us today to set up a personalized walkthrough and free trial of our platform.

The Economics of Brexit