Shaw & Co, the specialist corporate finance advisory firm, has launched its second free interim analysis of the Manufacturing & Engineering (M&E) industry.

The report, which features a summary of M&A deals that have been completed since the launch of Shaw & Co’s second annual M&E report last September, provides SMEs with valuable insight regarding their latest acquisition prospects.

The report’s key findings include:

• Deal activity has been buoyant in the M&E sector in the last year, partly as a result of increased near-shoring.

• Several headwinds – rising inflation and the worsening geopolitical situation – mean that the level of M&A activity that has been seen in the last year may not continue. However, confidence is key to dealmaking and the continued demand for M&E means this industry is fairly well placed to ride out these headwinds.

• The recent weakening of the pound is likely to make UK businesses more affordable to foreign buyers. Therefore, in the next period we would expect to see the ratio of UK to overseas buyers become slightly more equal.

A full copy of the report is available here

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