· Buyers
More than half of companies sold to a trade buyer went to a serial acquirer
Of 10,426 UK companies taken over by another company between 2019 and 2025, 57% went to a buyer with more than one acquisition on the register since 2016.
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· Buyers
Trade buyers buy older businesses than private equity does
Among UK companies with more than £10M of turnover bought between 2019 and 2025, half of those sold to a trade buyer were 20 or more years old. For private equity, about a third were.
· Performance
The median mid-market company in our sample makes an EBITDA margin of about 6%
Across 7,300 UK private companies turning over £10–100M, the median EBITDA margin is 6.4%. A third make more than 10%.
· Performance
Only one mid-market company in eight grew in each of the past five years
Of 3,033 UK private companies turning over £10–100M with six years of accounts on file, 12% increased turnover every year.
· Owners
More than half of founder-owned mid-market companies are owned by someone over 60
57% of founder-owned UK companies turning over £10–100M have an eldest controlling owner aged 60 or over.
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