Craig Goold – Head of M&A at BDO Scotland

Across the year, almost two thirds of the transactions (29) had private equity involvement, an increase of over 30% on the prior year, with a further 17 deals involving privately owned corporate/trade parties or publicly listed companies.Deal activity spanned a wide range of sectors, with the majority of completed deals centred around tech, real estate, industrial products and manufacturing, support services and healthcare.

Craig Goold, head of M&A in Scotland, said: “We saw the 2025 deal market pick up pace in the second half of 2025. Whilst private equity continues to drive momentum and investment activity, we have continued to work with a number of corporates on both buy and sell-side, with an uplift in companies pursuing bolt-on acquisitions to create value and drive growth.

“The backdrop remains unpredictable, with geopolitical uncertainty and evolving investor priorities. However, going into 2026, our current activity levels are high and there’s cause for optimism on the back of strong activity in Scotland making it one of BDO’s standout markets in 2025.”

Notable deals across the region in 2025 included supporting Optima Partners as part of Growth Capital Partners’ investment, supporting Astrak Group on the acquisitions of TKV Group and West-Trak NZ, acting for Frasers Group on its acquisition of Braehead Shopping Centre, supporting MARCH and EMK Capital on the acquisition of Cobra Engineering, advising on the sale of Turmeric & Co to AG Barr plc and acting for Denovo Business Intelligence on the sale to LEAP Legal Software. One third of total deal value was real estate.

BDO has been named the No 1 Financial Due Diligence provider in the UK and Ireland in the Mergermarket UK Accountant League tables 2025 by deal volume for the fifth consecutive year.

Adam Broatch, transaction services partner at BDO, added: “Despite a challenging M&A market we have seen a 29% increase in the number of completed transactions that the BDO Scotland deal advisory team have been involved in.

“Reflecting our commitment to Scotland, we have continued to invest in our team by adding nine people and awarding 20 promotions across deal advisory. As a global firm with strong Scottish presence, we’re well placed to support investors, buyers and vendors across the spectrum.

“Deal preparation and diligence are more rigorous than ever, with heightened focus on the visibility of future performance, as well cyber security, AI, and tax. The best prepared businesses have considered these areas pre-deal, and this is critical to maximising value.”