Claritas Tax advise on £1.8 billion worth of deals in 2024

2024 was an exceptional year for Claritas Tax’s Transaction team.

Whilst the 2024 M&A market remained below previous years in terms of deal volumes, Claritas managed to work closely with clients, providing tax structuring advice and due diligence support on 86 buy and sell-side transactions, with a combined value of £1.8bn.

Concerns over changes to capital gains tax following the change in government accelerated some activity as clients sought to benefit from the previous regime before feared changes to the tax rate were enacted. As a result, the team advised on 23 transactions in October alone.

There were significant deals across Claritas’ core business sectors which include technology, manufacturing, financial services, energy and retail, demonstrating the continuing strength of deal flow across the economy. The strength and optimism of private equity was a recurring theme, with 31 of the transactions involving a Private Equity buyer or seller. In what could be construed as a sign of confidence in the UK amongst overseas investors, 10 of the acquisitions were by foreign buyers. Alternatively, that may of course be a reflection of the weakness of sterling and of the ability of foreign buyers to see value where UK competitors do not.

We continue to work closely with clients, building trusted relationships across all sectors and regions of the UK, as well as internationally. We are proud to have supported the growth objectives of our clients by connecting them to opportunities both domestically and across borders.

Ses Memhi, Partner and Head of Transaction Tax comments: “The volume of transactions we were involved with is testament to the increasing strength of our brand and reputation in the mid-market as a genuine and credible alternative provider of M&A tax support. As always, we are grateful to our clients and to our professional partners who have continued to support and show great confidence in Claritas. I’m sure 2025 will bring its own challenges and opportunities but we are anticipating an increased level of confidence in the market, certainly as we are already seeing a lot more interest from overseas acquirers, particularly the US and Europe.

With a number of exciting new joiners across all our offices over the coming months, we are certainly well placed to continue to support our clients and look forward to doing so.

To round up, it has been a stellar year in 2024 with 2025 set to be another momentous year.”