Shaw & Co, the specialist corporate finance advisory firm, has launched an interim analysis of the Professional Services industry.

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

The report’s key findings include:

• 82 M&A Deals: Deal activity has been buoyant in the PS industry in the last year as larger companies look to scale their operations to take advantage of the strategic benefits of an acquisition.

• 82% of Buyers From UK: The majority of buyers are based in the UK or have a significant presence in the country. However 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.

• 43% of Deals in South East: The South East proved popular for deal activity as well as the North of England.

• 26% of Deals in July: July was the most popular month for deals to be completed in this period as businesses seek to finalise transactions before the busy Christmas period.

A full copy of the report is available here