Doing deals in an unsettled world

Martin Ewan, corporate partner at Brodies

Despite the unsettled economic and political situation, dealmaking activity, particularly in “hot sectors” such as tech, appears to be continuing to build on the growth that was witnessed last year, according to Martin Ewan, corporate partner at Brodies.

In the latest quarterly Deals supplement from The Scotsman, in association with Brodies law firm, Ewan says he believes the market has recovered from Covid-19, giving the example of his firm having experienced strong year-on-year growth in its last financial year, which ended in April, in terms of corporate work.

However, he points out that issues such as relatively high inflation, cost of living pressures and industrial unrest are having an ongoing impact, with certain sectors feeling the pain. Ewan says: “It’s a really mixed bag. There are some sectors that are particularly hot, technology among them, and others which are much slower in terms of activity.”

As well as providing an overview of the mergers and acquisitions market in Scotland, this issue of Deals also helps businesses prepare for an asset sale, explains why Brodies has launched an Abu Dhabi arm, looks at the role of the UK Competitions and Market Authority in a post-Brexit environment and asks several commentators whether they think the market has recovered from Covid.