Industrial Manufacturing

Q1 of 2023 saw 61 deals, a 30% fall from the previous quarter but broadly in line with the average from the past few years. Notable deals in Q1 2023 include:

• Marcegaglia’s acquisition of Outokumpu’s stainless steel products division for £198.98m, which includes a wire rod rolling plant and a bar manufacturing plant in Sheffield, UK
• Aggreko’s acquisition of Crestchic, via it’s financial sponsors Carson Private Capital, through a £122m public-to-private leveraged buyout

The Industrial manufacturing industry will likely continue to see a steady flow of deals activity through 2023 with more of a strategic focus. We're likely to see deals look to improve supply chain resilience, or to divest of non-core assets. We also anticipate private equity-backed businesses to take advantage of wider economic uncertainty to acquire good-quality industrial assets at good value. 

Restructuring activity within industrial manufacturing has remained very high for a number of quarters. In particular, inflationary cost pressure increases, notably energy and raw materials, have impacted on profitability. The sector also continues to face skills shortages in many areas, which has been made further acute by the reduction in availability of skilled non-UK labour.