A list of company mergers and acquisitions that took place in the UK between January to May 2023
May 2023 Mergers And Acquisitions
55,000 jobs to go at BT as it invests in AI
Thu, 18/05/2023 BT Group has announced it is to reduce its total workforce from 130,000 employees down to 75,000 employees by 2030. The telecoms giant is to introduce a range of new technologies, including AI, across its business as it responds to slightly disappointing annual results.
11,000 jobs to go at Vodafone
Thu, 18/05/2023 Vodafone is making a number of strategic shifts following comments by group CEO Margherita Della Valle that “our performance has not been good enough”. Vodafone plans to focus on its fast growing business division while its consumer arm will go back to basics with an emphasis on offering a simple and predictable experience. These changes will result in 11,000 jobs being lost over the next three years.
Purplebricks sold for £1
Thu, 18/05/2023 The online estate agent Purplebricks has been acquired by Strike for a nominal fee of £1. All employees will initially transfer to Strike, although cost and headcount reductions are expected.
Sweco buys Ball & Berry
Fri, 12/05/2023 Ball & Berry has been bought by Sweco UK, in a deal which establishes Sweco as an industry leading building control consultancy.
Accenture buys cloud specialist Objectivity
Thu, 11/05/2023 Cloud and platform development specialist Objectivity has been acquired by Accenture. Objectivity has sites in the UK, Poland, Germany and Mauritius and the deal strengthens Accenture’s cloud capabilities.
National World buys Insider Media
Tue, 02/05/2023 B2B media specialist Insider Media has been acquired by National World.
April 2023 Mergers And Acquisitions
Team17 subsidiary buys German developer
Fri, 28/04/2023 Team17 subsidiary, astragon Entertainment, has acquired the German videogames developer Independent Arts Software.
The Progress Group buys AC Education
Mon, 24/04/2023 AC Education has been bought by education and training specialist The Progress Group. AC offers more than 150 specialist training courses for the children’s services and education sectors.
connective3 headcount reaches 100 with Made Greater purchase
Thu, 20/04/2023 Paid media performance agency Made Greater has been bought by connective3, a provider of digital marketing services to clients such as Ocado, Wren Kitchens and Tapi Carpets.
Well Pharmacy buys wholesaler Lexon UK
Tue, 18/04/2023 Wholesaler and community pharmacy operator Lexon UK has been acquired by Well Pharmacy.
£2.3m deal sees Judges buy Henniker
Thu, 13/04/2023 Plasma technology specialist Henniker Scientific has been acquired by Judges Scientific for £2.3m.
Investors buy Ebuyer
Wed, 05/04/2023 Tech etailer Ebuyer has been bought by investor Mark Reed and business partner Richard Marsden.
March 2023 Mergers And Acquisitions
finnCap Group and Cenkos Securities agree merger
Thu, 30/03/2023 finnCap Group and Cenkos Securities have agree to merge. The CEOs of Cenkos and finnCap, Julian Morse and John Farrugia, will be co-CEOs of the newly combined group.
Digital ID buys Identbase
Wed, 29/03/2023 German photo identification specialist Identbase has been acquired by Digital ID. The deal means Digital ID now has more than 160 employees across the UK, Sweden, Germany and Austria.
£17.6m sees Graham Engineering move to Australian ownership
Thu, 23/03/2023 Graham Engineering has been acquired by the Australian company K-TIG in a deal worth £17.6m. Graham Engineering is a manufacturer of large scale metal fabrications to the UK nuclear decommissioning sector.
Travel Counsellors makes first acquisition with Holidaysplease deal
Tue, 21/03/2023 Luxury travel specialist Holidaysplease has been acquired by Travel Counsellors, the first acquisition in the company’s history.
Severfield buys Voortman
Tue, 21/03/2023 Steel fabrication specialist Severfield has strengthened its European operations with the acquisition of Dutch company Voortman.
Drive Motor Retail buys Minstergate
Tue, 14/03/2023 Minstergate has been acquired by Drive Motor Retail. Based in Yorkshire, Minstergate owns and operates six Hyundai and MG dealerships.
UK government and HSBC rescue Silicon Valley Bank UK
Mon, 13/03/2023 The government and the Bank of England have facilitated a private sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK to HSBC. The deal for a nominal value of £1 rescues the bank from insolvency following the decision of US regulators to close down Silicon Valley Bank on Friday. The bank is an investor in hi-tech companies.
Sky Sports pundit sells company to Miroma Group
Wed, 01/03/2023 Buzz16, the content company co-founded by Sky Sports football pundit Gary Neville, has been acquired by marketing specialist Miroma Group. Buzz16 produces The Overlap, a YouTube channel fronted by Gary Neville and which has recently started producing live shows featuring Neville, Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane.
February 2023 Mergers And Acquisitions
Consolidation in biotech sector as Redx and Jounce merge
Mon, 27/02/2023 The biotechnology companies Redx Pharma and Jounce have agreed to merge. Redx, based in the North of England, Redx specialises in targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and fibrotic diseases
£232m deal sees Croda buy Solus Biotech
Fri, 24/02/2023 Solus Advanced Materials has sold Solus Biotech to Croda International. The £232m deal expands Croda’s Asian manufacturing capabilities.
Newcastle and Manchester building societies to merge
Thu, 23/02/2023 Newcastle Building Society and Manchester Building Society have agreed to merge, a deal which strengthens Newcastle’s position as the UK’s eighth largest building society. Manchester has not undertaken new lending since 2013 and its board believes it “lacks the scale and resilience to endure a major financial or economic stress without raising additional capital”.
Discovery makes explosive announcement as BT Sport becomes TNT Sports
Wed, 22/02/2023 The BT Sport brand will disappear from UK TV screens in July, when it changes its name to TNT Sports. The rebrand is the latest step in the merging of the BT Sport and Eurosport channels as part of the joint venture between BT and Warner Brothers Discovery. Together, the two channels hold the rights to some of the best known sports events in the UK, including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP and World Championship Snooker.
GFG Alliance buys Aartee Bright Bar
Fri, 17/02/2023 250 jobs in the UK steel industry might be saved after GFG Alliance has today acquired Aartee Bright Bar. GFG Alliance is a group of global businesses and investments owned by Sanjeev Gupta and his family.
Broadstone buys H&C
Mon, 13/02/2023 H&C Consulting Actuaries has been acquired by Broadstone. Established in 1999, H&C is a provider of pension advice to corporate and trustee clients. The deal is part of Broadstone’s north of England growth strategy.
Mina acquired by Fleetcor
Thu, 09/02/2023 Fleetcor, a leading provider of business payment services, has acquired Mina, a provider of cloud-based digital electric vehicle (EV) charging software platforms.
Novis & Co to undergo rebrand following DJH Mitten Clarke acquisition
Wed, 08/02/2023 DJH Mitten Clarke, a leading accountancy firm based in the North of England, has acquired Novis & Co, a firm of chartered accountants based in Morley, Leeds. The deal gives Novis & Co access to DJH Mitten Clarke's extensive resources, expertise and financial support. Novis & Co will rebrand to the DJH Mitten Clarke name in the near future.
Red Box bought by Uniphore
Tue, 07/02/2023 Conversational AI and automation developer Uniphore has acquired Red Box, a company which specialises in technology capturing voice, screen and metadata from conversations.
I'm out! Marketing group founded by Dragon sold for £17.2m
Fri, 03/02/2023 Social Chain, the influencer marketing group founded by Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett, has been acquired by Brave Bison Group for £17.2m.
Knights buys Bristol law firm
Fri, 03/02/2023 Meade King, a law firm which has operated from Bristol since the 1790s, has been acquired by Knights. The deal enables Knights to expand across the south west of England.
January 2023 Mergers And Acquisitions
Tesco buys Paperchase brand but future of stores uncertain
Tue, 31/01/2023 Tesco has acquired the Paperchase brand and intellectual property. The deal does not include the retailer’s 106 nationwide stores, putting at risk the jobs of 820 employees. Tesco plans to sell Paperchase’s products in its stores.
Bidcorp UK with double acquisition
Fri, 27/01/2023 Bidcorp UK has made two acquisitions in the space of a week as it strengthens its portfolio of brands. The two deals will see Harvest Fine Foods and Thomas Ridley Foodserve join the Caterfood Buying Group, a buying group which serves the foodservice wholesale sector.
The Citation Group buys Disclosure Services
Fri, 27/01/2023 Background screening specialist Disclosure Services has been acquired by The Citation Group. The deal expands Citation’s business services portfolio.
Dignity aims for market leading position following £281m takeover
Thu, 26/01/2023 A £281m deal has been agreed which will see funeral provider Dignity taken over by a consortium led by Castelnau Group Limited and Phoenix Asset Management Partners. The new owners are to increase investment with the aim of Dignity becoming the leading end-of-life business in the UK.
Equistone buys Nexus Vehicle Rental
Tue, 17/01/2023 Phoenix Equity Partners has sold a majority stake in Nexus Vehicle Rental to Equistone Partners Europe. Nexus is based in Leeds and provides vehicles to a range of corporate, credit hire and leasing customers.
COVID-19 vaccine developer BioNTech buys InstaDeep for £362m
Thu, 12/01/2023 InstaDeep has been acquired by BioNTech. Established in 2014 in North Africa, InstaDeep is headquartered in London and specialises in machine intelligence research. Based in Germany, BioNTech is one of the world’s best known biotechnology companies thanks to its work on the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The £362m deal strengthens BioNTech’s drug discovery platforms and related lab infrastructure.
MBO completed at Alloy Wire International as it aims for £15m
Thu, 12/01/2023 A management buyout has been completed at Alloy Wire International. The deal means all 33 members of staff become shareholders in the business. The new management team are to oversee £1m of investment as the company aims to reach a turnover of £15m for the first time in its history.
Merger brings Parseq and Column Software Solutions together
Tue, 10/01/2023 Business services and IT provider Parseq has merged with the Indian IT consultancy Column Software Solutions. The deal supports Parseq’s aim to enter the US market in the second half of 2023.
Palletforce acquires Dobbs Logistics
Fri, 06/01/2023 Dobbs Logistics has been acquired by Palletforce.
SolarEdge buys Hark
Fri, 06/01/2023 The energy analytics specialist Hark Systems has been acquired by SolarEdge Technologies. The deal expands SolarEdge’s commercial and industrial energy management portfolio.