Tughans leads the field in the volume of corporate deals struck in Northern Ireland during the first half of 2019, the latest report from Experian Market IQ shows. While the year-on-year value of transactions in Northern Ireland fell, a total of 137 deals were completed in the six months to June 2019, up from 101 in the first half of 2018. It is the highest figure for a first half in a decade, says Experian.

Commenting on the report, Patrick Brown, Managing Partner, said:

“The business community continues to show great resilience and a willingness to commit to transactions despite the uncertainties surrounding Brexit. Through our insight and experience across all corporate legal areas and every business sector, Tughans has the expertise to strategically steer companies towards continued growth. It’s why we’ve been ranked the number one M&A Corporate and Real Estate Advisor by Experian for the past four years.”

In this current report, Tughans leads in Northern Ireland with a total of 24 deals which include acting on the sale of SSAS Solutions to Mattioli Woods plc, acting for Foresight on its investment into the 352 Medical Group and acting for Plotbox on the investment into it by Par Equity.

James Donnelly, Head of Corporate at Tughans comments on current market trends:

“2018 was a busy year for our Corporate Team and this has continued in the first half of 2019. The Experian Report identifies the market trend as being a drop in overall deal values but with an increase in the volume of smaller to mid-size transactions. This reflects exactly what we have seen over the last 6-9 months. In terms of pipeline, we expect to see a number of mid-size acquisitions and disposals announced in the next 6-9 months particularly in the Tech, Engineering and Health sectors and the local investment funds look set to remain very active.”