This is according to the latest Recruitment M&A H1 2024 Snapshot published today [13 August 2024] by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. 

While BDO cautioned market observers to avoid seeing the shift in M&A activity away from private equity participants as a “complete trend”, the professional services firm acknowledged that “the sharp uptick is stark… and potentially indicative of current market sentiment, activity and direction of travel”.

BDO’s James Fieldhouse also noted that the trade buyers are looking beyond the UK for growth overseas in “far-flung territories” such as New Zealand. Also, UK recruitment companies are attracting attention from overseas in locations such as the US, India and Hong Kong, Fieldhouse said.

The Snapshot points out that executive search and generalist recruitment businesses have each accounted for 20% of the transactions in H1 this year, followed by recruitment platform/software businesses at 14%, education and IT both with 11%, healthcare at 8% along with engineering/construction/industrial, marketing recruitment businesses at 6% and financial services at 2%.

Describing the education sector as having been “a particularly active area” for M&A activity in H1 2024, the report said a number of market growth areas appear to have driven this surge. The factors cited were availability of funding to support schools in Covid recovery and increased staff absences, leading to schools using agencies to source additional supply staff. In this instance, private equity has taken an increased interest in the sector and made “a number of investments”.

Of the deals involving a UK recruitment business, more than 80% of the transactions were concluded with a UK buyer or investor. About 17% came from overseas, with 11% from the US, BDO said. Luxembourg and the Netherlands also were involved in UK deals, at 3% each. Referencing the 17% figure, BDO said: “This level is marginally higher when compared to 2023 (13%), which continues to evidence the attractiveness of UK recruitment assets to overseas buyers.”

Deal activity is usually greater in the second half of a year. However, the H1 results suggest “2024 is on track for a strong year from a transactional perspective”, the BDO report said.

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