The UK food and beverage sector saw a 60.3% increase in merger and acquisition deal value in the first four months of 2023, new data from corporate finance house Oghma Partners has found.
There was an increase in the volume of M&A deals in the period, it said, with 80% of deals having an estimated value of £10 million (€11.6 million) or less. Only 6% of transactions were above the £50 million (€58.2 million) mark.
Notable Transactions
Among the transactions of note were acquisitions of canned wine producers The Copper Crew and canned coffee producers Bottleshot Brew, while in the snacking category.
Elsewhere, snack brand Burts was acquired by the French private label crisps manufacturer Europe Snacks, while Cheesies was acquired by The Curators.
'Resilient And Defensive'
According to Mark Lynch, partner at Oghma Partners, the period highlighted the "resilient and defensive characteristics" of the food and beverage M&A sector, with deal volume at its lowest level since 2017.
"However, deal value continues to be particularly low compared with the historic average and persistent macroeconomic headwinds continue to be a major culprit: inflation remains stubbornly high forcing further interest rate hikes and increasing the cost of debt, a cost-of-living crisis has reduced consumer spending, geopolitical tensions have increased market uncertainty and supply chain issues have piled more pressure on the industry," he said.
"These factors have manufactured a significantly less favourable environment for larger transactions with 81.8% of deals having an estimated enterprise value of less than £10.0m."
Overseas buyers were responsible for many of the largest deals in the period, accounting for 21.2% of deal volume. This was down from 25.0% in the corresponding period in 2022.
Read More: 'Massive Shift' Seen In Grocery Shopping Habits In The UK: Report
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-Brands news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
