2024 has been a cautious year for investors, shaped by global economic and political uncertainty. Key elections worldwide, ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, high inflation, and looming recession fears created a challenging environment across all sectors and asset classes.
Although there have not been many major IPOs this year, listed entities are increasingly opting to distribute unwanted subsidiaries to shareholders via spin-offs rather than selling them to private equity buyers.
The UK’s mid-market M&A sector is bouncing back. The latest data shows that deal value is up, reflecting the stabilizing economic environment and presenting new opportunities for mid-market businesses and advisory firms.
Donald Trump’s most recent win has unsurprisingly made waves across the globe. US markets, which were performing well – albeit tentatively – before the election, experienced strong growth following the results. Scott Bessent’s appointment as Treasury secretary last month further boosted US markets, reflecting American confidence in both Bessent and the broader Trump agenda.
We are delighted to announce the merger of the transaction team at GrowthWorks, a boutique advisory firm specializing in the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sectors, with Aalto Capital. This merger will see the GrowthWorks transaction team join Aalto’s London office as the cornerstone of our new TMT practice, further solidifying our commitment to providing specialised advisory expertise in dynamic and fast-evolving industries.
The Alternative Investments Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has had a difficult time in recent years. The market was established in 1995 for smaller, high-growth companies to access capital, and at its height in 2007, there were 1,694 AIM-listed companies.
The Software as a Service (SaaS) industry is witnessing a significant shift from traditional subscription-based pricing to usage-based models. This transformation is not only reshaping revenue streams but also affecting how investors value SaaS companies.
Żabka’s successful IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange signals a promising outlook for future IPOs in Europe. The convenience store giant’s shares debuted at 23 zlotys (c. $5.75) per share – 7% higher than the initial offering price.
In 2022, the Energy Digitalisation Taskforce put forward a recommendation to develop a ‘digital spine’ across the energy sector. This digital spine is a proposed sector-wide data sharing mechanism, intended to enable the seamless and secure transfer of data and information between all participants in the energy market.
Accountants, auditors, and tax consultants are unlikely to go out of business anytime soon. Indeed, so long as there are financial regulations and corporate taxes for businesses to contend with, this sector will always be needed.