ThinCats named top non-bank lender for M&A transactions in 2023
- Overall 2023 volume and value of M&A transactions down 12% and 21% respectively on 2022
- Market share of big 5 banks fallen from 63% to 28% over last 10 years as share for alternative lenders risen from 2% to 28%
- ThinCats leading non-bank lender ranking top overall in 4 regions: North West, London, Scotland and East of England
Read the full 2023 M&A Experian Market IQ report here
The latest report covering UK M&A transaction activity for 2023 published by Experian Market IQ, shows that the volume and value of M&A transactions fell 12% and 21% respectively in 2023 compared to 2022.
Looking at those transactions which involved external debt, volumes were down 20% compared to 2022. ThinCats funded the most deals by a non-bank lender to rank second overall, 15 transactions fewer than leading overall lender HSBC.
Further analysis of the underlying data by ThinCats, covering the 10 years from 2014-2023, shows a significant shift in the type of lender providing external debt for M&A transactions where the big 5 banks experienced a fall in market share from 63% in 2014 to 28% in 2023. During the same period challenger banks experienced a small increase in share from 9% to 13% as did asset backed lenders whose share rose from 26% to 31%. The main increase came from alternative lenders whose share rose from 2% to 28% since 2014.
The report reveals that businesses remained cautious about taking on additional borrowing to fund M&A transactions during 2023 with volumes down 20% on 2022. This is no surprise given the relatively weak economic backdrop and the rising costs of borrowing during the year, although it’s likely that interest rates have now peakedAmany Attia, CEO, ThinCats
"Feedback from our conversations with corporate finance advisers across the UK is that confidence and activity levels since the new year have started to pick up as businesses feel more positive that rates are not going to rise from current levels. From ThinCats’ perspective, 2023 was a record year for origination so it’s encouraging that we continued to grow our market share, remain the leading non-bank lender nationally and were the overall market leader in four regions.
On a wider level, our analysis gives a very clear picture of how dramatically the funding landscape for M&A transactions has changed over the last 10 years with the decline of the big 5 banks mirrored by the rise of alternative lenders such as ThinCats.”
*LH axis – number of transactions
*RH axis – market share
