Corporate advisory firm Shaw & Co has launched its latest sector report, this time honing-in on the technology, media, and telecoms industries (TMT). In total, the study examines the fortunes of 1,874 UK companies, tracking performance, profitability, debt levels, borrowing capacity and M&A activity.
Analysis is conducted across 6 key areas:
- Books, Magazines & Newspapers
- Information Technology & Software
- Publishing & Printing
- Telecom Services & Equipment
- TV, Movies & Music
- Radio
Key findings include:
- Scale: the industry is highly concentrated, with just 8% of the 1,874 companies analysed accounting for 77% of total turnover.
- Profitability:Apart from radio, companies across all sub-sectors have seen an increase in average EBITDA margins over the past 12 months, which vary from 1%-3%.
- Borrowing:Over the past 12 months, across most sub-sectors, debt levels have stayed the same or reduced, with just over 63% of total industry debt currently being carried by the Telecom Services & Equipment subsector.
- M&A: 509 M&A deals were delivered during past 12 months, of which 55% were completed by UK buyers.
Founded in 2011, Shaw & Co Shaw & Co has helped facilitate a number of notable industry deals over the years, including the sale of Pukka Herbs to Unilever, the purchase of VoucherCloud from Vodafone and its subsequent sale to Groupon, and the sale of GoProposal to Sage.
The company says that the number of overseas investors currently involved in the acquisition of UK entities, highlights the attractiveness of TMT businesses to all potential global buyers. You can access the report in full here.