Despite geopolitical uncertainties, Ireland’s mergers and acquisitions market showed remarkable resilience in 2025, with deal volume up by 11 per cent for the first three quarters, according to Renatus Capital Partners.
Some 365 deals were completed, compared to 329 during the same period in 2024.
For Katharine Byrne, head of deal advisory at BDO Ireland and a member of the BDO International M&A Group, the word that best sums up the market in 2025 is “robust”.
“When you consider how much commentary there is around uncertainty in the economy, the impact of tariffs on business and the potential for increased interest rates, it’s surprising to see the number of deals that are still getting completed, especially in the mid-market, which can be hit very quickly by confidence,” says Byrne, adding that this only seems counterintuitive if you look no further than the headlines.
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“We’re dealing with companies that are outperforming their budgets and continuing to trade very well. There are also quite a lot of succession issues, where people are naturally availing of opportunities – with international buyers, local private equity and international private equity – to assess what their exit options are,” she adds.
A significant chunk of the transactions that took place in 2025 were front loaded into Q1, she points out, with Q2 quieter and the pace only starting to pick up again in Q3. “It is anticipated that Q4 will be very, very active,” says Byrne.
A clear demonstration of the strength of the mid-market is the fact that it is attracting interest from international buyers, both trade buyers and private equity.
“The other big factor is that the number of deals by local Irish private equity funds is continuing to increase too, which is great. On top of that we’re seeing some of the international funds establishing offices and funds here, which again demonstrates that Ireland is a very attractive place to invest. That is a combination of the way our economy is performing, as well as the fact that we have exceptional talent here that is very ambitious,” adds Byrne.
The ability of Irish companies to go global is increasingly well recognised internationally, she points out.
If there is another word to describe M&A activity in 2025 it is “consolidation”.
“Where there is a fragmented industry there is an opportunity to consolidate and we’ve already seen that in some of the financial services, starting with insurance and moving into private wealth. We’re seeing it in accounting and now we are seeing it shift into more traditional businesses such as logistics, looking for synergies and efficiencies, as well as a better service for customers,” says Byrne.
The trend towards consolidation is set to continue for 2026 and will also ripple through other sectors in which the Government is deploying capital; the priorities for Ireland Inc right now include healthcare, home retrofits and industrial decarbonisation.
There is growing M&A appetite from sellers too. Bibby Financial Services’ Q4 Confidence Tracker, which surveyed 250 business owners, found that 34 per cent of respondents are interested in an acquisition or merger in 2026.
Interest is greatest in the manufacturing sector, where half of respondents expressed such an interest.
Just over one in 10 respondents (11 per cent) said they would consider a full sale of the business to another entity with, in this case, the wholesale sector expressing most interest, at 17 per cent.
In all, 10 per cent of respondents said they would be interested in a management buy-in, with the manufacturing and transport sectors keenest for such an outcome, at 24 per cent.
Ken McAndrew of Camigo Consulting works with business owners to prepare their business for sale and to help ensure they are ready for what comes next if, for example, the deal sees private equity come on board.
He believes Q4 2025 will see a slowdown in activity because of the increase in entrepreneurial relief in the last budget, which will likely delay some signings until early next year instead.
“It might flatten out again after that but, broadly speaking, it’s trending in the right direction for another strong year next year, driven mainly by continued overseas investors looking at Irish firms as a way to get a foothold in European markets, and by continued consolidation.”
Right now, he sees wealth management and, in particular, accountants, as being among the hottest targets for consolidation-driven activity next year. That is partly because of a demographic shift that is seeing older partners age out of practice, putting succession planning to the fore, just at the same time as AI is beginning to have a disruptive effect.
“So, you’ve got these challenges on the seller side, and then you have private equity coming in looking to buy up a number of businesses and consolidate them, because they have strong recurring revenues and opportunities for synergies both through the use of technology as well as from cross-selling in the group,” says McAndrew.
“Accounting is hot right now and, if you look at the UK as an indicator, the next one we will see is law firms and managed service providers – basically your IT outsourcers, which, again, offer recurring revenues and synergies. From an overseas buyer perspective, post Brexit, we are an English-speaking EU country, with talent and tax efficiencies. If you were to do an analysis from afar, Ireland ticks a lot of boxes. That is going to continue to be the case.”
