Closing comment
Repeat acquirer buy‑and‑build continues to contribute significantly to UK mid-market M&A activity. Having been on an upward arc since 2021 activity dipped in 2025. 2026 feels like it has begun on a more stable footing than 2025 M&A is still happening against the backdrop of multiple global and domestic unrest, together with the generational positive disruption which AI is creating.
Buy-and-build is resilient, as very effective tool for growth in the right hands. And UK mid-market M&A, where entrepreneurship and opportunism will generally drive activity even where there is unhelpful uncertainty in the air, is also a resilient deal sector.
It will be interesting, therefore, to see what the data for 2026 reveals but as things stand we are optimistic that curve will have turned upwards once again.
Buy‑and‑build has become an increasingly important feature of UK mid‑market M&A, not as a short‑term response to market conditions, but as a deliberate strategy for businesses seeking to grow at pace, add capability and build resilience over time.
What the data and our experience both point to is the importance of repeatability, from sector focus and financing approach through to execution and integration. Against a backdrop of sustained economic and political uncertainty, it is these foundations that have allowed many of the most active acquirers to continue transacting and adapting as market conditions evolve.
Joe Bedford, Head of Corporate, Stevens & Bolton (placeholder quote)