Acquisition by trade buyers increased by 188% from 2020 to 23 deals with UK involvement, accounting for 57% of the activity. Another 15% reflected management buy-outs and 3% by private individuals, the report said. 

Although no transactions involving shifts to Employee-Owned Trusts (EOTs) occurred in 2021, such as the EOT move announced this week by global legal recruiter SSQ, the report suggested: “Anecdotally, this avenue of divestment is still very much one that is being considered by owners and founders up and down the country.”

Commenting on the abundance of trade buyers in 2021, the report offered the example of MCG Group and the company’s ‘buy and build’ strategy in 2021’s Q4, acquiring Sixth Sense Trading in October and RPI International in December. The company predicted: “This acquisitive drive seems set to continue, with… the acquisition of Jenrick Group in January 2022, and comprises part of MCG Group’s five-year plan.” The plan sees the company on “a growth trajectory” through both organic growth and expansion by acquisition.

Globally, the report said, the M&A sector for recruitment has not recovered as strongly as the UK market. It went on to say that deal volume has mainly been driven by the US and Canadian market.

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