The number of UK merger and acquisition (M&A) deals that took place in Q2 increased to 501, compared to 412 in Q1, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.

This included a surge in deals in April, which totalled 216 domestic and cross-border acquisitions. The number of deals dropped to 138 and 147 in May and June, respectively.

The ONS’ M&A report covers transactions for the change of ultimate control of the target company, and have a value of £1m or more.

Between April and June, the value of domestic UK M&A deals is estimated to have totalled £3.4bn, increasing £600m quarter-on-quarter. The ONS said the most notable domestic M&A transaction in this period was Urban Logistic REIT’s £699m takeover of LondonMetric in May

However, the value of outward M&A deals, which are UK companies acquiring foreign companies, is estimated to have dropped by half in this period to £4bn, while the value of inward M&A deals is estimated to have reached £9.3bn, a quarter-on-quarter drop of £11.8bn.

Of the outward M&A deals, the two largest valued transactions included the DAZN acquisition of the Australia-based firm, Foxtel Group, and AstraZeneca’s acquisition of EsoBiotec SA of Belgium.

The most notable inward acquisitions completed in this period include International Distribution’s takeover by Luxembourg’s EP Investment Sarl and TI Fluid System’s takeover by Canada’s Apollo Global Management.

In line with these figures, the Bank of England stated in its Summary of Business Conditions for Q2 report: "Investment intentions seem subdued but broadly stable and not quite at the lows seen in previous months. There are fewer references to significant cuts in the year ahead.

"Several uncertainties are weighing on the confidence needed to commit to future investment plans, raising the bar for return on investment and leading to increased scrutiny of capital expenditure plans. Contacts cite fragile demand, trade developments, Government tax, and Labour policies squeezed profitability and costs of capital goods as factors.

"Business services contacts report that their clients are managing budgets more closely and delaying spending decisions because of cost pressures and greater uncertainty. Merger and acquisition activity is more subdued owing to higher uncertainty."

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