Logistics companies look for acquisitions

A third of logistics companies reckon they will make an acquisition in the next 12 months, a survey by accountants BDO has found.

It said that merger and acquisition activity in the first half was strong with 32 deals completed. The first quarter alone was the most active in the four-year period reviewed.

Freight logistics was the most active sub-sector for deal volumes, followed by freight forwarding, transport planning and postal and courier delivery services. Aggregate deal value was £241 million in the first half.

“Despite the challenging and uncertain economic environment, 2019 deal volume in the logistics sector has been very strong so far,” said Jason Whitworth, M&A partner and logistics & supply chain management lead at BDO.

There was a slight decline in volume in Q2 2019, but this followed an exceptionally active Q1, which proved to be the most active quarter throughout the review period.