BUSINESS SERVICES
The year started with a notable uptick in activity and renewed optimism across the Business Services sector. However, this momentum has been partially hampered by geopolitical tensions, particularly conflicts in the Middle East, and the resulting uncertainty around global economic development.
At the same time, AI remains a defining theme, placing pressure on many Business Services business models. Assessing the extent to which specific industries and companies will benefit from or be disrupted by AI remains a key challenge for investors, contributing to caution in the market.
Despite these uncertainties, we remain optimistic about the sector’s outlook for 2026, supported by resilient demand in attractive sub-segments, particularly within BPO. High-quality, defensive assets continue to be highly sought after, as demonstrated by recent MCF-led transactions, including the sale of Advisense’s fund administration operations, FCG Fonder, to Universal Investment, and the sale of leadership development specialist Profile M to Mercer.
We remain hopeful that a stabilisation of the geopolitical environment will support a further acceleration in activity over the coming quarters.
Get in touch with our Head of Business Services: Nils Petter Palmefors
CONSUMER
Consumer sector performance in the first quarter of 2026 can be characterised as a strategic reset phase rather than a cyclical rebound. While a small number of high-profile transactions – most notably the Unilever Food / McCormick combination – supported aggregate deal values, underlying activity remained subdued. Excluding these larger deals, the overall disclosed value would have been materially lower than in both Q4 2025 and Q1 2025.
This cautious sentiment is also reflected in deal volumes, which declined meaningfully compared to recent quarters in Europe: 539 in Q1 ’26 vs 645 in Q4 ’25 vs 698 in Q1 ’25. At the same time, public market performance remained mixed across subsectors: consumer staples and discount and value retail outperformed, while luxury, discretionary retail, and leisure delivered more mixed and, in some cases, underwhelming results.
Despite this backdrop and ongoing geopolitical volatility and cost pressures, we were able to build a strong pipeline across several subsectors and successfully close transactions such as the sale of Saxdor Yachts, one of the world’s fastest-growing boat brands, to US-listed Malibu Boats.
Looking ahead, we believe consumer M&A targets with a strong market position, a solid financial profile, and a differentiated go-to-market strategy will continue to attract strong interest from both strategic and financial investors.
Get in touch with our Head of Consumer: Andreas Kulcsar
INDUSTRIALS
Following a very successful 2025, the Industrials team entered 2026 with a strong pipeline across all geographies. Our transatlantic cooperation continues to scale effectively, with enhanced coverage and deep sector expertise, combined with local presence on both sides of the Atlantic, driving strong traction.
At the same time, the industrial M&A environment remains dynamic. Global tensions, supply chain disruptions, and emerging inflationary pressures are impacting trading visibility. Despite these challenges, we are seeing sustained strategic acquisition interest, with private equity investors increasingly refocusing on high-quality industrial technology businesses offering strong, sustainable USPs and limited exposure to AI-related disruption.
We expect this trend to continue, supporting ongoing demand for high-quality industrial technology assets, and remain well positioned to support clients in navigating this evolving environment.
Get in touch with our Head of Industrials: Sven Harmsen
TECHNOLOGY
The Technology team started 2026 with the successful sale of gingco Systems, a provider of modular software for intelligent workplace and resource management, to Main Capital Partners.
AI-driven disruption in software continues to impact public market valuations. However, high-quality software companies, particularly complex enterprise software in regtech and fintech, where exposure to AI is more limited, continue to attract strong interest from both financial and strategic buyers.
Businesses with high gross dollar retention remain well-positioned to achieve premium valuations. At the same time, the bar for premium multiples has increased. Investors are now focused on companies delivering net revenue retention of 120%+, gross retention of 95%+, and performance exceeding the “Rule of 60”, with the “Rule of 40” no longer sufficient on its own.
We remain actively engaged with buyers and continue to see a healthy pipeline of opportunities across the tech sector.
Get in touch with our Head of Technology: Rita Lei
