Navigating 2025’s economic landscape to drive M&A success

Driving M&A success in 2025: key takeaways

Our recent event explored the evolving economic landscape and its impact on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). Experts from Q5, the Bank of England, Fabric Group, and Partners& shared insights on inflation trends, strategic M&A execution, exit readiness, and risk management.

Reading time: 4 minutes

We recently held an event in partnership with Partners& and supported by Connect Yorkshire, bringing together industry leaders at Lamborghini Leeds to discuss how businesses can successfully navigate Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in an uncertain economic climate. With high inflation, shifting interest rates, and increasing market volatility, our expert speakers provided guidance on achieving long-term value from deals.

Check out our event video below:

The economic outlook for 2025

Paul Mount from the Bank of England outlined the challenges businesses will face in the coming year, including persistent inflation, energy price fluctuations, and the risk of a wage-price spiral. While interest rate hikes are expected to ease inflation, businesses must prepare for ongoing economic uncertainty.

Mastering M&A: Driving organisational performance

Our Head of M&A, Heather Martin emphasised that financial performance alone doesn’t determine M&A success. Key factors such as cultural integration, talent retention, and clear communication are crucial for long-term value. She highlighted three focus areas for businesses:

1. M&A strategy & capability: identifying opportunities and partnerships, uplifting your internal capability to deliver M&A.
2. M&A deal support: addressing organisational and people risks through due diligence to drive deal value.
3. Post-merger integration: ensuring you drive long-term value from deals by addressing organisational performance as a key pillar of your post-merger activity.

Heather’s key takeaway: people topics are a strategic driver for success in M&A and HRDs should have a seat at the top table throughout your deal lifecycle.

You can download Heather’s full guide on maximising value from M&A here.

Building a business ready for M&A

Tim O’Connor of Fabric Group shared insights on preparing a business for sale. His roadmap includes:

1. Defining an exit strategy: understanding financial goals and business valuation.
2. Driving growth & transformation: enhancing profitability and securing long-term contracts.
3. Ensuring exit readiness: organising legal, financial, and operational structures for a seamless transaction.

Risk management in M&A

Julie Scott from Partners& stressed the importance of risk mitigation in deals. Businesses should focus on:

• Cybersecurity: protecting against evolving threats.
• Key person risk: safeguarding essential talent.
• Warranty & indemnity insurance: securing deals effectively.

Julie’s top tip: a well-structured risk strategy is essential to protect investments and ensure long-term success.

Final thoughts

As businesses prepare for the challenges of 2025, the key to successful M&A lies in strategic planning, operational readiness, and proactive risk management. Whether acquiring or preparing to sell, organisations that focus on cultural alignment and long-term value creation will be best positioned for success.

If M&A is a topic of interest for you, please complete this form and someone in our M&A team will get in touch, we’d love to chat!