2023 Deal Activity in Review
2023 represented a [resilient] year of deal activity in Northern Ireland, despite the prevailing macro-economic headwinds.

According to the recently published Experian Market IQ: 2023 Report, “…. overall M&A activity in Northern Ireland was lower than in the preceding two years, while still sitting at the higher end of the annual deal volume we’ve tracked over the last decade”.

236 deals were reported in Northern Ireland, representing a 12% decline in the previous year (which reflects the same percentage reduction in deal activity across the UK as a whole). There was a notable reduction deal value in Northern Ireland (almost halving) but which again tracks the average of most of the other regions in the UK (with the exception of North West & East England and London).

Deal flow in Manufacturing/Industrials, Wholesale/Retail and Hospitality spaces rose considerably (with Hospitality having its busiest ever year for M&A). This uptick in deals in these three sectors is reflective of our own experience in the deals in which we were involved in 2023.

To demonstrate these trends in Northern Ireland, standout transactions from 2023 included:

1. Swedish hotelier Pandox acquiring the Hilton Belfast for £40 million from US investment group Starwood Capital
2. The sale of Robinson Group of Companies to Bidvest Noonan
3. Property investment company Mussenden acquiring Forestside Acqusistions, the owner of the Forestside Shopping Centre Belfast, for £42 million with plans to expand the leisure and hospitality offering

Tughans LLP was once again ranked by Experian as the most active M&A legal adviser in Northern Ireland by deal volume, a position we have now held for nine successive years. We were also fortunate to have been involved in one of the largest deals of the year in Northern Ireland; acting for longstanding client Weev, a leading electric charge point operator, in relation to the £50 million of growth capital provided by Octopus Sustainable Infrastructure Fund.

Looking Ahead to 2024
Deal flow in 2023 was generally more subdued in Q1 but grew quarter on quarter as the year progressed. We expect this confidence to continue into 2024, with mid-market transactions generally less reliant on access to debt funding and the impact of the “new norm” of [stubbornly] high interest rates.

Restoration of the Stormont Executive
We anticipate that despite the prevailing economic headwinds, the restoration of the Stormont Executive should bring some further welcome clarity for businesses in relation to certain of the nuances associated with the NI Protocol.

A recent report from OCO Global, a Belfast headquartered advisory firm focused on trade, investment and economic development, stated that recent changes to border controls for the movement of goods to and from Northern Ireland present “…a practical demonstration of the competitive advantage Northern Ireland has under the….Windsor Framework…(which) makes Northern Ireland a more attractive place for international investors looking to expand their operations”. We firmly agree with this statement and believe that the interest international investors have already shown in the region will continue to grow in 2024.

EY Ireland’s Winter 2024 Economic Eye Report states that the restoration of the Stormont Executive “…offers the opportunity to unlock further growth potential within the Northern Ireland economy” which we expect to potentially drive further deal activity in the coming year. We are therefore optimistic that it will be a busy year on the transactional front in 2024 which may feed into increased participation from overseas parties in transactions.

If you have any questions about deal activity in Northern Ireland, or you are considering an acquisition or sale, please contact Ben Sims, Director in our Corporate Department.