Businesses for Sale in South West

Businesses for Sale in South West

The largest of England’s nine regions, the South West is also the third-least populous. The region takes in the counties of Cornwall, Dorset, Devon, Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The business profile of the region is highly varied, with the southern counties (particularly Cornwall) reliant on tourism and agriculture. Towards the north and east of the region, industries including aerospace, defence, digital media and finance have a strong presence.

While a less active hub of dealmaking in the UK than London and the South East in terms of deal volume, the South West’s recovery from COVID-19 has included several mega deals that have seen deal values skyrocket. During Q1 2021, the South West recorded 181 deals, up 22 per cent from a year earlier. However, driven by National Grid’s £14.2bn acquisition of Western Power Distribution, deal value in Q1 2021 surged 306 per cent compared to a year earlier to £21.1bn. The region has also seen strong M&A deal volumes in professional services and wholesale and retail, marking these as sectors that will continue to help dealmaking in the South West recover from the pandemic.